Demon King of the Night
by TalonochtheWise
Summary: Kamito holds inside of his body the will of Ren Ashdoll. With a different interpretation of the past Spirit War, as well as a different outlook on the Darkness Elemental Lord, Ren Ashdoll will turn Kazehaya Kamito into a true Demon King of the Night. Blade Dance ownership belongs to Shimizu Yuu. I do not own any of the characters used in this story.
1. Genesis

It was a time well before the rise of men when _it_ came to this world. An existence from a dark dimension, it appeared suddenly into the world of endless oceans, dense forests, enormous mountains, vast plains, and incredible cities. Creatures of every shape and size roamed the landscape, taking various forms ranging from giant demons to small, scurrying, woodland animals.

It came into the world of spirits and demons - Astral Zero - to end it. Unaware of the otherworldly being's intentions, the six great Elemental Lords first made contact with it. It was then that five of the six Elemental Lords fell victim to the corruptible darkness of the being.

Only the Darkness Elemental Lord, Ren Ashdoll, was able to evade contamination and escape. Retreating from the spirit capital of Megidoa, Ren Ashdoll fled to gather spirit support to resist and exterminate the evil darkness, and free the Elemental Lords. The other Elemental Lords, driven insane by the filth of the otherworldly being, spread the contamination to all spirits under their domain except for a few of the more powerful ones. Those spirits who escaped becoming corrupted immediately sided with Ren Ashdoll's Resistance to oppose the Elemental Lords.

Thus began the Spirit War between the corrupted Five Great Elemental Lords and the Resistance led by Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll. Lasting for several years, the war between the two forces of darkness turned the forests of Astral Zero into wastelands, its mountains into piles of dust, its oceans into lifeless, black pools, and its plains into deserts. Even in the face of an overwhelming opposition, the Darkness Elemental Lord Ren Ashdoll powerfully repelled the attacks of the other Elemental Lords again and again.

However, despite having favorable conditions in the war so far, the numbers of the Resistance were dwindling from losses on the battlefield. Although still maintaining a sizeable army of powerful spirits and demons alike, the opposition still had superior numbers. If the fighting continued, the Resistance would surely lose in the end.

Seeing this as the only possible outcome if the war waged on, Ren Ashdoll prepared a last resort to oppose the evil darkness in the future; the seed containing the Darkness Elemental Lord's will and the seed to oppose that will implanted into the human genome. Ren Ashdoll purposely put the first seed on the Y chromosome and the second seed on the X chromosome, insuring that the will of the Darkness Elemental Lord would one day be reincarnated in the body of a pure human male while the opposing will would be reincarnated in a pure human female. This also insured that nearly every pure female would gain a portion of this will, granting them some of the seed's power. This did not mean that every female born would contain the seed to specifically oppose the Darkness Elemental Lord's will; only the purest of human females would be granted the seed to oppose this will, and would only appear around the time Ren Ashdoll's will would soon inhabit the body of a human boy.

On the other hand, the seed on the Y chromosome would seldom appear in the biological code. The seed was only supposed to appear when the evil darkness would begin to stir again. Hence, the Y chromosome would override the X chromosome in this regard, resulting in human males lacking the seed's power given through the X chromosome.

The last sane Elemental Lord's will was also implanted into a darkness spirit, so that one day when a human male obtained the seed of Ren Ashdoll's will, the spirit would help to guide the boy towards awakening the power dormant within him. Finished with the last resort preparations, the Darkness Elemental Lord knew what had to be done to end the war.

Deciding to end the Spirit War in one final decisive battle, Ren Ashdoll and the entire Resistance staged an attack on the spirit capital of Astral Zero, Megidoa, where the other five Elemental Lords resided. Fighting quickly ensued all across the capital city, the more powerful spirits and demons of the Resistance obliterating the fodder produced by the five Elemental Lords.

While the fighting continued to tear apart the city, the Darkness Elemental Lord went straight to the Shrine of the formerly Six Great Elemental Lords. Entering the inner chamber, Ren Ashdoll came face to face with the other Elemental Lords and the otherworldly being. The filth of the evil darkness crept forth to ensnare Ren Ashdoll, but the Darkness Elemental Lord charged forward, colliding head on with the vile being in an intense showdown of pure divine power. The divine power exuded by the two opposing darknesses reached a state of critical mass resulting in an explosion that sent shockwaves throughout the entire realm of Astral Zero.

When the explosion subsided, Ren Ashdoll and the otherworldly being were both gone. The shockwave generated by their clashing divine power effectively wiped the memory of every spirit and demon throughout Astral Zero of any knowledge pertaining to Ren Ashdoll or the vile darkness. With the corruption plaguing the remaining Elemental Lords gone, the war ended and the spirits and demons began to restore Astral Zero to the world before the apocalyptic struggle.

Over time, the statues and shrines dedicated to Ren Ashdoll continued to accumulate dust from lack of use and cleaning, eventually corroding away until virtually no evidence remained of the Darkness Elemental Lord's existence.

* * *

The otherworldly darkness surfaced again in this realm, this time in the human world. Although not at full power, the evil being would eventually gain enough power to consume this world in darkness given enough time.

Through the seed implanted on the Y chromosome, Ren Ashdoll's will was reincarnated through a mortal man. But, as a result of the previous battle with the evil darkness, the Darkness Elemental Lord's will became contaminated. The otherworldly being took control of this will, developing the man into a terrifying being that would become known as the Demon King Solomon.

With the will of the Darkness Elemental taken over, the otherworldly being had no more obstacles stopping it from ending this world. Or so it appeared.

Ren Ashdoll had anticipated being contaminated by the darkness, which was why the second seed to oppose the will of the Darkness Elemental Lord was planted along with the first. Arriving at the Palace of Scorpia to oppose the Demon King was the one who inherited the second seed to oppose Ren Ashdoll's will, Areishia Idriss, the Sacred Queen.

The two engaged in relentless battle, the ferocious fighting of the Demon King against the elegant dance of the Sacred Queen. In the end, it was King Solomon who had fallen at the hands of the Areishia Idriss.

Slain by the Demon Slayer, Terminus Est, Ren Ashdoll's will was freed from the filthy darkness thanks to the sword's power to break curses and destroy evil. Along with the otherworldly being, Ren Ashdoll's will dissipated until a time where it would be reincarnated into another human male.

The evil darkness, in a weakened state, was absorbed into the demon sword and transferred into the body of the Sacred Queen, contaminating the seed and turning her body to crystal as a result.

The seed of the Sacred Maiden already activated, it produced several pure young maidens with the ability to control spirits over the course of several generations. Meanwhile, the seed of Ren Ashdoll's will remained elusive to any human male for almost a thousand years.

* * *

Cold. Dark. Harsh. Unforgiving.

These words accurately described what he went through every day at the Instructional School. Lying in a dark cell with only the dull flickering of a lightbulb in the corridor, a boy of about three years of age was on his back staring up at the bare ceiling.

He was the only person, as well as the only thing, in the cell. Nothing else existed inside the cold, concrete cage; no bed, no bathroom, just the lone boy. All of the other cells on the corridor were the same as his, each containing one child and lacking anything else.

The young child could not remember why he was here, nor for how long he had been at the institution. He honestly did not care about that anyways. The instructors at the school had destroyed any sense of feeling in his heart, and constantly drilled into his brain the skills required to be an assassin. Even at such a young age, it was better to begin learning as soon as possible, even if he could not learn practical skills yet. But, because of these practices, he lacked any kind of emotion and felt nothing aside from the determination to complete the missions assigned by the instructors. With no knowledge of his parents or his life before the Instructional School, the skills and lessons taught here at the institution were all he had that constituted as his memories.

Hearing footsteps and the sound of a cart being pushed coming down the corridor, the boy shifted to his side to catch a view of the passerby. A middle-aged man was walking by with a cart of mush. He would peer into the cell, take a wooden spoon and dip it in the mush then plop it on the ground in a pile. he would then move on to the next cell and repeat the process.

Reaching the boy's cell, he looked inside the cell, to see the cold and uncaring gaze of the infant boy. The man dropped a serving of slop on the floor on the boy's side of the cell with a *_Plop!_* and continued on to his next destination right next to this cell.

The boy got up leisurely and walked over to the mush. Taking a scoop into his hands he shoved it into his mouth and began eating it.

This was routine for the young lad. The students of the Instructional School were often only fed once a week if that, and only occasionally were some students allowed to have more than one meal a week as a reward for excellence in assassination training. They were not given any utensils to eat with, nor any plates or bowls to eat from; for those trained in the art of assassination, any conventional household item could instantly turn into a deadly weapon.

They were given water on a more frequent basis, but only three days a week. The instructors would deposit water through a hole in the ceiling for a short amount of time, falling into the cell and draining in the corridor. Because of the inconsistency of the watering times, the students had to keep their senses sharp so as not to miss the opportunity to hydrate for future assassination lessons and practicals.

Although it was hardly edible and devoid of any flavor, the boy continued to eat his portion of slop that he was given. Finishing the rest of it quickly, he returned to his original spot and laid on his back to resume staring at the ceiling. At some point, his eyes had closed, and he drifted off into a light slumber.

* * *

The young boy opened his eyes and saw an endless, pitch-black void stretching out all around him. He silently scanned the area in front of him, but even with eyes trained to see clearly even in absolute darkness he could not see anything.

He silently wondered if he had been taken somewhere by the instructors while he was asleep and was currently being tested, but quickly dismissed the idea since he would have awoken the instant someone stepped foot in his cell. He also could not feel any other presences aside from his own in the darkness, so he highly doubted that this was an assassination practical set up by the instructors.

(So, this is a dream?) He asked himself mentally.

Although he seldom had any dreams, he occasionally had a few that he could recall, but they had all been recollections of what had occurred the previous week. On rare occasions he would receive precognitions and would see the vague events of his dream appear in reality later in the week or month, but this did not seem to be the case either.

"Kazehaya Kamito…"

Hearing a woman call his name, the boy instantly spun around and got into the standard combat stance for assassins trained at the Instructional School. The woman before him was probably in her mid twenties and had gorgeous, black hair that almost blended with the black void in the background. In contrast, her white skin shone as bright and as blinding as the sun in the never-ending darkness. Her attire consisted of a slim fitting dress as black as her hair and matching black high heels. Her eyes, a deep violet, glowed faintly in the dark and shone with a mischievous glint that was reflected by her smile.

"... Who are you and how do you know my name?" the boy Kamito asked without any hint of emotion.

"Ooo~ don't be that way, I just wanted to meet you."

"I will kill you."

His words were to be interpreted not as a threat, but as a definite statement. The woman snickered, and began walking towards the boy.

In response to her action, Kamito propelled his body forward with a powerful leg thrust and aimed a palm strike at the woman's throat. At this distance, evading should have been impossible. But the woman instantly disappeared and Kamito flew through the air before landing on his feet in a crouch.

Turning around, he glared at the woman, who was still smiling mischievously. "Now, Now, don't be so hasty. Like I said, I just wanted to meet you." she said holding her hands in front her disarmingly.

Not sensing an incoming attack, Kamito stood and dropped his stance, facing the woman directly. "Who are you, where are we, and how do you know my name?" he asked in quick succession.

"My name is Ren Ashdoll, we are currently inside the deepest reaches of your psyche, and I know your name because I am a part of you." she answered just as quickly.

"Ren Ashdoll…"

Kamito furrowed his brow. He had not heard of this name before, but he had his intuition telling him it was very important somehow. He did not think that the woman had lied about anything just now, since she had answered all three of his questions without skipping a beat or giving any telltale signs of deceiving him. Her answer would also explain why everything was pitch black around them, and how she knew his name.

"... What do you mean you are a part of me?"

"It is exactly what I said it means. I am a part of your conscience. More specifically, I am your dormant power."

"My power?"

He processed these words into his mind. (A dormant power, huh?)

"... What is this power?"

"It is my power, the very same that was given to the Demon King Solomon."

Her words caused his eyebrows to arch. Even in the Instructional School where information from the outside world was scarcely heard, everyone had at least heard about the tyrant Demon King who ruled one thousand years ago and was slain by the Sacred Queen.

Feeling apprehensive about what he had just learned, he asked monotonously, "Are you saying I'm going to eventually become the Demon King?"

"No, no. That should not happen again. However, it is my wish that one day, you will not become the Demon King… but the Demon Savior."

"Demon… Savior…"

He repeated those words back to her. (What does all of this even mean?) He shook his head to try and sort his jumbled thoughts.

"... Do not think too deeply on it. You are currently unable to harness my power at this point in time. When the time comes for my awakening, you will be able to control my power… or die in the process."

She spoke the last part with a wolfish smile. However, the ominous feeling her words should have conveyed fear fell on the deaf ears of an assassin in training, who did not fear death to begin with.

Ignoring her the implications of her words, he asked, "When will that time come?"

"All in good time, Kazehaya Kamito. For now you can focus on playing assassin. I will be waiting for you to awaken me."

Replying in an amused tone, she cut the mental link keeping the boy in his consciousness and she allowed herself to be swallowed by the pitch-black darkness, entering into a state like hibernation, waiting to be awakened several years from now.

The following day the boy awakened and recalled the strange dream he had, but dismissed it as one of the many side effects of the terrors experienced at the Instructional School. He eventually forgot about ever even having such a dream.

* * *

Ten years later, Ren Ashbell wielding the Vorpal Blade would win the Blade Dance and appear before the Five Great Elemental Lords. Secretly Kamito in disguise, he won the tournament with relative ease in no small part due to the single, most favorable condition for him: one on one combat.

Despite being pitted against top competitors from all over the continent, from each of the most renowned, prestigious countries, and even a few of the legendary Numbers that were the Ordesia Empire's most elite spirit knights, he defeated them all just to make her Wish become a reality. The one being that had given light to his bleak world, and his only partner and trusted person, Restia, his contracted spirit.

Outside of the massive doors to the inner chamber where the Five Great Elemental Lords resided, Restia bestowed upon him her one Wish.

(... The Assassination of the Five Elemental Lords…)

That was her Wish. Although an odd Wish to produce, Kamito had already steeled his resolve to see her one wish come true. It was the least he could do for the one person who opened his heart.

Stepping inside the inner chamber, he could see the six great thrones of the Five Elemental Lords. He found it strange that six thrones existed when there were only five Elemental Lords, but that was an irrelevant detail at the moment. In four of the thrones, elemental matter was floating just above the throne seat: A mass of swirling dirt and rock, a controlled vortex of flames, a condensed raging windstorm, and an ever-changing water formation.

(... Where's the Holy Elemental Lord?)

He thought this seemed suspiciously peculiar. If the Holy Elemental Lord was not here, then where could it be?

He shook his head slightly as he took a bowing position before the Shrine of the Elemental Lords. (It does not matter.) he thought. He could just find the Holy Elemental Lord at some other time. There were four others right in front of him that he could attempt to take out right now.

"A most exquisite blade dance, Ren Ashbell. What is your one Wish that you want granted?"

The Elemental lords asked Ren Ashbell(Kamito) and he responded instantly.

"My Wish… is the death of the five Elemental Lords!"

He immediately propelled his body forward with a powerful lunge and appeared before the Water Elemental Lord, stabbing Vorpal Blade right in the center of the water bubble. The water gave off a dazzling white light before transforming into a small girl. "Thank you.."

She smiled and then disappeared into light particles. Finding the reaction he got from him killing the Water Elemental Lord odd, he did not have time to think too deeply on it as he still had three more targets to take out. Storing all of this strange knew knowledge in the back of his mind, he turned to attack the next target.

At this moment, a creeping black fog shot out of the throne and swallowed him up. Falling in the darkness, Kamito readied his sword to fight the shifting forces in the darkness that he could not see clearly, but it transformed into a girl with black hair and dusk-colored eyes, wearing a dress that resembled the color of the night.

"Restia?!"

He called out to her, but she ignored him and began drawing a magic circle as they were falling.

(...! She plans to teleport me out of here!?)

Recognizing the patterns of the magic circle to be that of teleportation seal, he frantically looked at Restia to confirm that this was not the truth.

"... I'm sorry, Kamito…" she said with a tear streaming down her cheek.

"... No… Restia!... Don't go!" he yelled with a hoarse voice.

"... Hey, Kamito…" she spoke as she finished the magic circle and it shone brightly. "If there ever comes a time when I am no longer myself…"

The blinding light blurred out her image and Kamito was teleported away from the vile darkness, but not before hearing her last words.

"... Please kill me..."

* * *

Deep inside Kamito's mind, a closed cage of metal bound by chain and lock stood. Obviously meant to keep whatever inside locked away for a long time, the cage appeared to be as impregnable as the sturdiest of fortresses. However…

*_Craaaaack!_*

A large fault splintered the middle of the cage, allowing a dark aura to seep through the crack.

(... It seems it is almost time for my awakening…)

A feminine voice thought as more and more dark aura seeped through the crack in the cage.

* * *

A week had passed since the conclusion of the blade dance. The Strongest Blade Dancer Ren Ashbell was idolized for her performance in the tournament, ensnaring the hearts of young girls and boys alike.

The day after she won, however, she vanished from the spotlight. It was not the case that the media had become disinterested in her. She simply disappeared on her own accord, leaving the whole world wondering where she disappeared to.

Far away from the Ordesia Empire, Kamito had replaced his wig and dress with rags and simple clothing. Currently, he was sitting in an abandoned warehouse building in a small village that was so small it was not even on the map. This was where he had been the past week, sulking and despairing due to his losing Restia.

(... I couldn't save her..) he thought bitterly.

If anything, he would have gladly been taken by the darkness with her, but she teleported him out. Although he did feel a lingering sense of betrayal, the reasonable side of his conscience convinced him that she did not abandon him, but instead saved him.

"... FUCK!..." *_Crrrrrrrash!_*

Yelling out in frustration, he punched the object closest to him, which happened to be a piles of wooden crates. Old and not very durable to begin with, the crates were obliterated by Kamito's divine power infused punch.

Tears were streaming down his face. Unable to cope with the loss of Restia, he held his head in his hands and curled up on the ground. Just as he was about to cry himself to sleep…

-O pure and divine darkness, cast your protective shadow over the mind!-

He instantly bolted into an upright position, scanning the room for the intruder who had spoken.

"...! Agghh!.."

Gripping his head in pain, a purple aura circled around the boy's head, entering into his body through his ears, nose, and mouth. Once the aura was gone, Kamito slumped to the ground.

When he came to, he tried to sit up quickly, but only ended up causing his head to throb painfully. Thinking hard despite the pain racking his brain, he recalled everything he could remember up to his meeting with the Five Great Elemental Lords. He remembered suddenly appearing outside of the inner chamber and disappearing from the limelight as Ren Ashbell. But he could not remember any details pertaining to the Wish he had asked the Elemental Lords for, and more importantly, anything about Restia any time after his meeting with the Elemental Lords, which left him greatly troubled.

He ignored his throbbing headache and infused divine power into the seal on his left hand. Surprisingly, it did not respond to his will as expected, and the gate remained closed. Frowning, he briefly wondered about what had happened to Restia, but his attention was drawn to a new voice speaking inside of his head.

-Greetings Kazehaya Kamito.- The voice of a woman echoed through his mind, causing his headache to ache with greater intensity.

Ignoring the unbearable pain in his head, he responded, "Who are you?"

-Do you want to find your darkness spirit?- the voice ignored him and asked.

Faced with an unexpected question, Kamito momentarily forgot all about asking the voice for her identity in favor of learning about his contracted spirit. "You know where Restia is!?"

-Unfortunately, I do not know of her whereabouts. You have lost your contracted spirit. Nevertheless, she is still alive. Your spirit seal is proof that she is still contracted to you.-

Kamito had no choice but to agree with her. If a spirit was to die, the contract between the spirit and the contractor would be terminated. The fact that he still had Restia's seal on back of his left hand meant that she was still alive somewhere.

"... I'm going to find her."

-Do you know where to even start looking?-

The voice asked in a mocking tone, but Kamito had already made up his mind. "It doesn't matter. If she's out there, I'm going to search. She's a very important person to me."

-... Very well. I will always be here to provide you with insight and advice should you need it, or I decide it is necessary.-

He felt something inside his mind shut off, and his headache lessened to an extent. He still had his suspicions about the voice inside of his head, but he could always ask her later. After all, she did say she would help him if he needed or wanted it, so a chance to ask her about who or what she was would come eventually.

Taking the few belongings he had with him, he left the abandoned warehouse and set off on his journey to find Restia again.

* * *

**Okay, so that's a sort of introduction to my story. It's my first attempt at writing a fanfiction, even though I've read several. I wanted to do one on something that wasn't very popular yet, so naturally I decided to do one on Blade Dance.**

**As I said, this is just the beginning of the story to give a sort of background for where I plan to go with it - hence the chapter title, Genesis. It's going to be semi-canon with the light novel series, so expect to see a lot of the events in the light novel repeated in the story.**

**Finally, inspiration for this story will come from Eroninja by The Lemon Sage. Which means:**

**Yes, it will be a harem story.**

**Yes, there will be love/romance.**

**Yes, there will be lemons.**

**Yes, it will be rated MA.**

**Yes, the plot will sort of revolve around the relationships of the main character, but not as much as with Eroninja. I already have solid idea for how all of these relationships and lemons will tie into the story and how they can be rationally explained by made up elements in the story. That being said, lemons will not be the entire focus of the story, and will not appear in every single chapter, but I do plan to have them play a semi-major part in the main plot line for the fanfic.**

**Alright, that's all I have for now. I'm working on the next chapter currently, but I'll most likely update sporadically. This is just a hobby for me, after all. Well, until next time!**


	2. The Demon Slayer

Three years had passed since the boy set off on his journey to find his contracted spirit that he lost. Kazehaya Kamito wandered all over the continent in search of his darkness sword spirit Restia, but in the end he still had no leads to point him in the right direction.

He felt really irritated at himself since he could not even remember the details behind her disappearance. He probably would not have believed she was ever gone in the first place had it not been for his inactive spirit seal on the back of his left hand. Several times he tried forcing divine power into the seal, but it simply would not respond like he wanted it to. The unopened seal served as a reminder that he had really lost her. Conversely, it also served as a flicker of hope for finding Restia. As long as the seal on his hand was still there, the spirit contract between him and Restia still existed, implying that she had not vanished from this world.

Driven by that small sliver of hope, he journeyed far and wide, desperately searching for his beloved darkness spirit. His only companion in his self-fulfilling quest was the feminine voice that echoed inside of his mind. She had first made herself known to Kamito a week after he won the blade dance under the guise of Ren Ashbell. She had convinced him to turn away from despair and keep searching for Restia.

For the entire first month after losing Restia, the voice in his head attempted to speak to him on occasion and he would not respond but a handful of times, but as time progressed and she kept offering her aid and insight, he gradually opened up to her. Now they conversed in his mind daily, and the voice had become as calming to him as Restia's was.

Although they were as close to "friends" as a boy and the voice in his head could get, he still did not know her true name. Whenever he would ask directly or try to get her to talk about why she was in his head, she would ignore him or change the subject. Having nothing to refer to her by, he simply settled on referring to her as the Voice.

Along their travels, as Kamito spoke more and more with the Voice, he learned many valuable things from her. One of which was to always help a person in need if he was able. There were more than a few occasions where he would do menial tasks for random strangers, like help them fix their broken possessions, help build all kinds of architecture, or do some housework for them. In serious life-or-death situations, he would swoop in to save the local people from bandits or out of control spirits. He became the hero of many small villages all across the continent, but he never received any gifts or rewards. Not that he was not given any for his good deeds; he simply refused to be rewarded for doing what he thought was right.

One thing he was absolutely grateful to the Voice for was her encouragement of him keeping his skill set sharp and refined. Unlike Greyworth, who tried to make him forget his skills learned at the Instructional School, the Voice insisted he practice the techniques taught by Greyworth and those in the assassination arts simultaneously. In addition, the Voice taught him various special techniques utilizing his own divine power, as well as how to control his divine power to make it more refined, lessening the amount he consumed when fighting. At his current level, he easily surpassed his strength as Ren Ashbell three years prior, but that was only the case if he had his contracted spirit. Without Restia, his power output was that of a mediocre spirit knight, which was nothing to scoff at either.

Currently, he was walking through a sprawling forest dressed in a hooded shawl and carrying a small bag full of his belongings. Inside of the spirit forest surrounding Areishia Spirit Academy, Kamito was on his way to see his old mentor Greyworth Ciel Mais. He had been searching for Restia in the Holy Kingdom of Lugia when he received a letter from her with some urgent news, requiring him to meet her. But at the moment…

-... It seems we are lost.-

(We are NOT lost!) he mentally shouted.

Although he had been inside the spirit forest more than a few times as Greyworth's personal maid four years back, traveling the world for three years had made it hard for his memory to recall any notable geographical features in the forest indicating where he currently was.

-... We really are lost.-

(Ugh... Fine, we're lost.) He hung his head in and sighed in exasperation, giving up on denying the reality of the situation any further.

-You know, if you had just stopped to ask for directions, we would not be in this mess.- the Voice huffed in his mind.

(I know, I know, but I thought I would at least remember how to get to my old home.)

In hindsight, he should have known better. The geography of the forest could have changed in three years time, and coupled with his lack of memory pertaining to the general area, he had gotten lost quite easily.

*_Splash!_*

Startled by the sudden noise, Kamito immediately crafted a short sword made entirely of divine power using his skill Weapon Works and crouched down into a defensive stance.

-Kamito, I sense a presence to your immediate right.-

Listening to the Voice, he stealthily approached his right flank with caution. *_Splash!_* He heard the sound again. Stopping behind a thick tree, he peered around the side to catch a glimpse of what was making the splashing sounds.

(... A girl?)

Unable to mask the surprise on his face, he spotted a beautiful girl with crimson hair and ruby-red eyes bathing in the center of a natural spring. The fair skin tone of her petite body shone dazzlingly as the sun glistened off of the water droplets on her flawless skin. She submerged her body beneath the shallow water for a few seconds, then resurfaced and flung her hair over her back, exposing her small, underdeveloped breasts.

Kamito averted his gaze momentarily out of a sense of respect for the unknown girl's privacy. It was not like he had not seen naked women before. During his training at the instructional school, he was trained to ignore his libido in order to complete the task at hand by having women of several ages attempt to seduce him while he carried out his mission. Only Restia had ever succeeded in seducing him.

The Voice taught him to be more considerate and respectful to other people, especially women. He was not particularly rude or hateful to anyone before, but now he would even address Greyworth as a woman instead of just an "old hag" as he used to call her. He did not fully understand why she wanted him to always act like a gentleman and be nice to everyone, but he guessed it had more to do with her than with his personality before she started speaking to him.

*_Splash_* He looked back to see the girl disappear under the water and come back up with her back facing him. (Why is there a young girl bathing here in the middle of the spirit forest?) he asked to himself.

The Voice answered him, saying, -She appears to be undergoing purification.-

(Ah? Is she an elementaler then?)

If she was, it would explain why she was way out here in the woods. No normal person would be able to bathe casually in a forest full of spirits, even if they are low-level.

(I should probably get out of here before she finishes. It would be bad if I'm still around and I'm caught accidentally peeping.)

-Oh you know you want to keep watching.-

He could practically feel the smirk he knew the Voice was wearing as he yelled, "Shut up!"

Realizing his mistake, he covered his mouth and peered around the trunk of the tree to see if the girl had heard. He saw a flash of red fly in his direction and he immediately dove from behind the tree just before the trunk exploded and the it fell over.

"So that feeling that I was being watched was coming from you."

The ruby-eyed beauty was standing in the shallow water, one hand covering her small breasts and one holding a fiery whip. The water sizzled and steamed everywhere the whip cord touched the surface.

Kamito widened his eyes in surprise. (An elemental waffe!? She mustn't be a typical elementalist then.) Not all elementalists could summon their spirits into a weapon form known as an elemental waffe. The fact that this girl could meant she had great potential as an elementalist.

"Answer me, who are you?"

The girl asked and then swung her whip. Kamito dodged the strike by a thin margin, rolling out of the way and jumping from cover to cover to avoid the flames and the weapon. He silently thanked the Lords that he was wearing his hood, since he doubted it would end well if she knew he was a man. This was also why he would not speak to her. If he spoke, she would immediately be able to tell he was a guy, resulting in the same situation.

She swung her whip in an arc towards his right side, and he pressed his body against the ground to avoid the whip slash overhead. He saw the girl smirk and twist her arm in a diagonal direction, and the tip of the whip curved and came at his head. He cursed as he moved his head to the side, the whip striking the earth right next to his ear, and then rolled over to stand to his feet.

"...! Damn it." he cursed as he felt the heat coming from the flames of his hood. He attempted to put the flame out and retreat before she could see his face, but she would not let up, sending strike after strike at him.

"Are you ready to answer me yet? Who are you?"

Focused on dodging and putting the flame out simultaneously, Kamito was unprepared for another surprise whip slash which incinerated the rest of his hood, allowing her to see his face and short, jet black hair. And then…

"..."

"..."

"..E-eh?"

"... Umm… Hello?"

"KYAAAAAAAAA!"

The girl blushed furiously and dropped her whip in favor of covering the rest of her body. The flame whip was thrown behind her, hitting a tree and cutting it in half. The tree tilted forward and began its descent into the spring, right where the girl was.

(Shit!) Kamito shouted in his mind. He used his powerful legs to lunge forward at lightning speed, scooping the girl out of the water and out of the way just as the tree crashed into the spring.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kamito opened his eyes to stare down at the young beauty in his arms, which he was carrying princess-style. Taking great care to only look her in the eyes and not let his travel her nude form, he calmly asked her, "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Said girl, blushing and still trying to process what just happened, nodded her head.

"Phew. Thank goodness. That was a close one." he said with a genuine smile of relief.

At this time the girl realized she was still being held, causing her to blush up to her ears. "L-L-L-Let me go, you pervert!"

"Eh?! Pervert?!"

In the next instant she summoned her elemental waffe and swung it to hit him with it across the head. Unable to dodge with her in his arms, he took it and was knocked unconscious.

* * *

Kamito slowly opened his eyes to see the girl he saved staring down at him coldly. Trying to sit up, he lifted his body up halfway and then fell back to the ground. Realizing she had him tied up with her whip, he calmly stared back into her eyes.

"... Hi. My name is Kazehaya Kamito. Could you please untie me?"

In this awkward situation, it was all he could think of to do. He thought that maybe, if he introduced himself and explained to her that it was all a big misunderstanding, she would release him.

"Hmph! I have no intention of releasing a huge pervert. You're lucky I, Claire Rouge, didn't turn you to cinders. Be grateful, Pervert-san."

Kamito closed his eyes and sighed in frustration while the Voice chuckled in his head. (Wonderful, she already has a bad impression of me.)

-I don't know, Pervert-san has a nice ring to it.-

(Just go away.) He huffed in his mind.

Opening his eyes, he realized that while he was unconscious the girl Claire Rouge had changed into a white, button-up, uniform shirt and matching short skirt. Her black stockings and damp hair tied in a twin pigtail clung to her body, letting Kamito know that he had not been out for a long period of time.

"... What are you staring at!? Perv!" Claire blushed and sent him a glare.

"... I can see you're panties. How bold of you to wear black."

"Wh-What!? I'm not wearing b-black! Th-They're white!"

"Oh? I see, so it's actually white."

"Guh!..."

Embarrassed by her confession, Claire dropped her whip, buried her face in her hands, and started sobbing. Kamito capitalized on the opportunity to break free of his binds and stand up. Stretching his limbs, he looked at the crimson redhead and felt a little guilty for tricking her into letting him go.

"Hey now, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

He spoke to her sincerely and put an arm on her shoulder to comfort her. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and slapped his arm away. "Don't touch me, mean pervert. Just go and die before I turn you to cinders!" She picked up her whip again and it started to flare up.

"Look, please calm down. It was an accident. A misunderstanding. And besides, I also saved you." He added the last part not to get her to thank him, but to get her to not try and attack him. The last thing he wanted was for another tree to get obliterated and nearly fall on her again.

"... Hm, fine. I won't turn you into cinders. What is a male doing here anyway? Do you know what this place is?"

"Ah, this is the spirit forest surrounding Areishia Spirit Academy. I was personally requested to come here by Greyworth." He pulled out a letter marked with the seal of the Ordesia Empire and showed it to Claire.

"The Headmaster!? No way!" She took the letter from his hands to inspect it thoroughly. "... The seal doesn't look like a fraud. Which means, she really did summon you."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, I got lost once I entered the forest, and happened to stumble upon you bathing. I'm truly sorry about that."

Claire blushed bright red after being reminded that Kamito had seen her in the nude. Hearing the sincerity in his voice, she swiftly turned away in a fluster. "S-Shut up! So maybe you aren't a huge pervert. You're still a lesser pervert!"

Kamito hung his head dejectedly at her statement. (Sigh… I guess there's no changing her opinion of me.) "Anyways, are you a student at the academy, perchance?" Although it had been a couple of years since his time as a maid for Greyworth, he easily recognized the white academy uniform Claire wore. Her calling Greyworth the Headmaster all but officially confirmed her position as an academy student for him.

"Hm? Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Since I'm lost, I was wondering if you could be my guide back to the academy since you know how to get back."

"Refused."

Answered with a quick, short response, Kamito frowned outwardly. "Why not?"

She thrust her finger out and pointed right at his face. "Why should I help a pervert?" She turned on her heel and began walking away from him. "Besides, I have business to take care of."

Following behind her, Kamito asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of business?"

"There's a high level sword spirit sealed in this area. I'm going to contract with it."

"Don't you already have a contracted spirit though?"

Claire stopped in her tracks and remained facing away from him. "... Scarlet is powerful. But… I need more power."

Kamito raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. After witnessing her power with her contracted spirit, whose name was apparently Scarlet, he honestly thought she was plenty strong. (Could this sword spirit be even stronger than that?) He had heard from Greyworth that there were some strong spirits sealed away within the spirit forest that not even the military dared to tamper with. (This girl... Is she going for one of those spirits?)

The rest of the walk was spent in silence. They eventually came to some ruins, the structures that once were great altars and columns cracked and overgrown with flora. The entrance to the ruin glowed with a faint luminescence.

"A spirit barrier?..."

Claire nodded and chanted an incantation to deactivate the barrier. "According to rumor in the academy, this sword spirit would reject anyone who tried to contract with it because it was so powerful. Because of this, they sealed the entrance so the spirit would not be disturbed any further. The sword bears the name of the legendary sword that cut down the Demon King Solomon, the Demon Slayer."

She finished deactivating the barrier and walked inside the shrine. Kamito followed a little behind her, prompting her to glare back at him. "Why did you follow me here? You can't use contracted spirits, so you'll just get in the way."

"Well, since I'm lost and don't know which direction the academy is, you're my only way of finding it. And you've seen how good I am at getting out of the way. So there shouldn't be a problem."

".. Fine, whatever. But don't blame me when you get hurt or something!"

She faced forward again just as they reached the inner sanctum of the shrine. The interior was very spacious, forming a dome with a cracked roof, allowing the sunlight in to shine on a pedestal with a gleaming silver sword thrusted into the stone.

"This is it. Stand back and watch me."

Stepping up to the pedestal, Claire grabbed the sword by the hilt and began chanting. "Oh noble spirit sealed in ancient holy sword, thou shalt accept me as thy master, and I shall be thy sheath!"

Divine power exploded from the pedestal, forcing Kamito to brace himself from being blown off his feet. Claire continued the ritual, flaring her own divine power. " I command thee, exchange vows with me!"

The sword gave off a brilliant light that hurt Kamito's eyes, but Claire's grip on the sword handle remained strong. "Thrice I command thee, exchange vows with me!" Then…

She pulled the sword out of the pedestal, holding it up in the air above her. "I-I did it!" she said excitedly.

"Wow, she actually pulled it out." Kamito muttered to himself.

The moment was short-lived, however, as the sword exploded with divine power, sending Claire flying and rolling across the ground. The sword swung it's blade around in the air a few times before pointing straight at Claire and thrusting to impale her.

Claire got to her feet and began chanting again. "Go Scarlet!" she yelled after she finished her chant and a flaming hellcat appeared from a surge of flames. The cat jumped and knocked away the sword's blade with its claws, and the two powerful spirits engaged in a battle of wills.

"You will submit to me! Fireball!" Claire shouted and threw a large ball of fire right at the sword spirit and Scarlet. The flames engulfed the silver sword in a large explosion while Scarlet absorbed the flames and jumped back to its master.

"Hmph, are you ready to form a contract now?" Claire smirked triumphantly, but it vanished as soon as the sword penetrated the flames and dove straight at her. Scarlet jumped to intercept the sword, but it angled the blade up to avoid being parried and slashed Scarlet across the back. The hellcat went limp and fell to the ground.

"Scarlet!" Claire screamed and ran to her injured spirit. She scooped it up in her arms right before it dissipated in a spray of light particles, returning to Astral Zero to recharge. "N-No… Scarlet..." With tears in her eyes, she looked up at the floating spirit sword pointed at her. The sword began its charge, aiming to pierce right through her.

Moving faster than Claire could follow, a figure appeared in front of her from seemingly out of thin air and blocked the sword strike with his hand, spraying blood on the ground. "Oh noble spirit sealed in ancient holy sword, thou shalt accept me as thy master, and I shall be thy sheath!"

Registering that it was Kamito that had protected her, she stared wide-eyed as he exuded immense divine power to keep the sword at bay. (A spirit contract!? Impossible!) she thought incredulously, but the evidence was right before her eyes.

"I command thee, exchange vows with me!"

The sword shone with a brightness far brighter than when Claire was doing the ritual. The sheer strength from the sword's divine power forced Kamito to one knee. "Thrice I command thee, exchange vows with me!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, using all of his divine power to force himself back up and thrust his hand into the sword blade. The silver sword emitted white hot light, blinding Kamito completely, and then his world went completely dark.

* * *

Kamito opened his eyes and saw the underside of the forest canopy slowly passing by overhead. He twisted his head to look "above" him and saw Claire walking along a beat path in the forest with him being dragged behind her tied up with her whip.

"Hey, why am I tied up?"

His question resulted in her stopping to look down at him and say, "This is punishment for stealing my contracted spirit."

He gave her an 'Are you crazy?' look and said, "Stealing?"

"Yes, that's right! You stole my contracted spirit from me, so now you have to take responsibility and become my contracted spirit!"

"... Wha?"

Faced with a sudden and strange demand, Kamito did not know how to properly react. He had never heard of people becoming contracted spirits to other people, but that was only common sense. (BECAUSE HUMANS ARE NOT SPIRITS!) Sighing in frustration, he ungracefully got to his feet and gave her another 'Are you crazy?' look.

"That's not possible, you do know that right?"

"Being able to contract with a spirit is impossible for males also. But you did it."

"..." He could not exactly refute her, as that was exactly what he had done. He was watching Claire fight toe-to-toe the sword spirit pretty well, at least until the tables turned and Scarlet was beaten. He saw the sword lunge at Claire and acted on instinct to take the strike for her. He was caught by surprise, however, when the Voice beckoned him to form a contract with the sword spirit. He was against it, but sensing that they would both die at the rate things were going, he made a split second decision to contract with the spirit.

"So it is possible. If you become my contracted spirit, then by extension your contracted spirit will become mine."

"I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say..." He shook his head and changed the subject quickly. "Anyways, where are we going?"

"Hm? Oh, to the academy. As my contracted spirit, you must come back with me."

"I'm not your contracted spirit though."

"Does this mean you aren't going to take responsibility?" She glared angrily at him, her hair flaring up behind her head.

"Haah…" (This ojou-sama just doesn't get it.)

The rest of the walk was made in silence. It didn't take long for them to reach the front gates of Areishia Spirit Academy. Surrounded by large castle walls, the school looked more like a palace than an educational institution. Kamito breathed in the familiar scent of the garden surrounding the academy and smiled. Even if his time here as a maid was hectic and unbearable, namely because of a certain Witch, he still had many fond memories about this place.

The two of them entered the main gates and walked a short distance before coming to an outdoors public restroom. Claire turned to him and glowered as she spoke, "I have to use the restroom. Don't even think about escaping or peeping, or it's cinders for you!" She tied her whip in a knot and latched it onto a nearby pole, and went inside the ladies' room.

Undeterred by her warning, Kamito skillfully untied the knot and slipped out of the whip bindings. He threw his sack of his shoulder and made his way to the school building in the center of the academy grounds. Somewhere behind him, he heard the now barely audible shout of "WHERE DID YOU GO!?" Chuckling to himself, he quickly stepped inside the school building to avoid another run in with the hellcat ojou-sama. The architecture of the building was designed to be more suitable for spirits than for humans. Thus, it would be easy for a new student to get lost in the winding hallways and twisting staircases. Luckily he still remembered how to navigate the halls of the academy.

He could feel the surprised, fearful, and curious stares he received from the female students roaming the school building's hallways. He knew it was only to be expected; after all, most of these girls, who were already in their mid to late teens in terms of age, had never seen a male outside of their family in their life. Not wanting to make a scene, he simply ignored their stares and headed straight to the Headmaster's office.

He walked up to the large double wooden doors to Greyworth's study and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. He placed his hand on the handle of the door that he had built to replace the one that was destroyed back when he was defending her study from an assailant that turned out to be Greyworth herself. He frowned momentarily, as it wasn't exactly his fondest memory of Greywroth. He had very nearly died trying to protect the book that contained the knowledge to unsealing Restia from her ring. He was just about to open the door when he heard voices coming from the other side.

"Academy Director, I cannot agree to this! Why should a man be allowed to join this academy for princess maidens?"

"Because I said we need him here. Is that not reason enough?"

He heard the voices of Greyworth and another girl arguing on the other side of the door. Based on context alone, he immediately knew they were talking about him.

"Are you saying that we are not strong enough without him?"

"No, no, that isn't what I meant at all. But, he is special."

"You mean how he is the only male alive that can communicate with spirits?"

"There's that, but there's also something else special about him."

"What do you mean by-"

They suddenly stopped their conversation. Kamito briefly wondered why they stopped, but he didn't have the time to think on it as the Voice told him, -Watch out!-

"Who's out there?!"

Kamito stepped back just before the door he was holding was kicked open by a stunning young girl with azure blue hair tied in a ponytail, wearing the Areishia Spirit Academy uniform in addition to a blue breast plate. She aimed a second kick at his abdomen, but his combat senses took over, allowing him to grab her leg mid kick and throw her over him. She flipped in the air and landed gracefully on the floor in a crouch. She glared at him with her auburn eyes for a second, and then widened them in surprise. Her face went flush as she shouted, "Huh!? A m-man!?"

"Ah, it's good to see that you made it, Kazehaya Kamito." Coming out of the office was a beautiful woman with ash-blonde hair and grey eyes. Her black suit fit her proportions well, showing off her large bust and ample cleavage. Adorning her left eye was a monocle.

"Hello Greyworth. It's been a while."

He addressed the Dusk Witch emotionlessly, and gave a slight bow. Truthfully, he never liked her all that much, since only trouble ever came from him associating himself with her. If it were his old self, he would openly express his displeasure at being here directly to her face, but thanks to the Voice's teachings, he would not even think twice about being rude to her again.

His response caused her to arch an eyebrow and look at him with a surprised expression. "My, my, when did you become so respectful?"

"I guess you could say I learned some manners while traveling abroad."

"I see. Well I'm glad that it did you some good, since you're purpose for leaving in the first place haven't yielded any results."

"... Yes, I suppose so." He answered coolly, not rising to the Witch's bait.

"Academy Director, is this the man you were referring to?"

The two of them looked over at the blue-haired girl, who was now standing and glaring intensely at Kamito.

"Yes, this is Kazehaya Kamito. Boy, this Ellis Fahrengart, daughter of the ducal house of Fahrengart and leader of the Sylphid Knights who maintain order on the academy grounds."

Greyworth introduced the two of them, and Kamito faced the girl Ellis. "It's a pleasure to meet you." he said with a bow. Even if she had just attacked him, she had done it thinking he was an eavesdropper. Knowing that, he did not have a bad impression of her and spoke his words sincerely.

"!..."

Ellis blushed bright red at his politeness, having never spoken to a man before. She shook her head to clear it and leveled a death glare at him. She did not move to reciprocate the greeting even after Kamito had raised his head. "Academy Director, are you sure you'll be alright alone with him? He just looks like the biggest kind of pervert."

(... What's up with that? I just met you and that's the first impression you got from me!?)

Feeling depressed that yet another girl thought he was a perv, Kamito hung his head as Greyworth responded to her question. "It will be fine. I'm wearing my lucky underwear today."

"D-Director!?"

"..."

The Director sent a sly look towards Kamito, but he ignored the bait set before him and shook his head disappointedly. He had already gotten used to the Dusk Witch's teasing. Actually, Greyworth's teasing paled in comparison to the Voice's at times, so perhaps it was just because he was no longer affected by it.

"Hm? Someone sure has matured. I remember when you used to blush red up to your ears at the mention of something like that."

"Your teasing will no longer work on me, unfortunately."

"B-But Director, you shouldn't be left alone with a guy without a guard-"

"Ellis Fahrengart. Do not make me repeat myself."

As Ellis tried to flub for an excuse to not let Kamito enter the office alone with Greyworth, the Dusk Witch spoke calmly and softly, her voice carrying through the hallway like it was spoken through a megaphone. Kamito felt a chill run through his spine, and he was reminded just how truly frightening the Dusk Witch could be.

".. Uh, um, I apologize!" she said hastily, and then moved to stand guard outside of the office door, not dropping her stern glare directed at Kamito, which he in turn ignored.

"Now then, please come inside. There is much to discuss."

He inclined his head as Greyworth ushered him inside her office. The interior was pretty simple; a single work desk at the far end of the room and bookshelves on both walls. Behind the desk were large glass windows looking out over the courtyard.

Greyworth moved behind her desk and sat down in her leather desk chair and activated a spirit barrier around the room to block any sound from escaping. "So, how was your journey here?"

"Honestly, it could have gone better. I ran into some girl in the forest and she wants me to become her contracted spirit."

"Oooh? Someone's popular with the ladies nowadays." she said mockingly.

"Pardon me, but I'm not here to talk about my interactions with young maidens."

He stared back at Greyworth with a cold look. Even with reformed manners and etiquette, he did not like the woman all that much. He only wanted to speak to her about what was necessary, then be on his way.

"Right, right, maybe it's about that spirit seal on your right hand, hmm?"

He clicked his tongue and brought his right hand up into his view to gaze at the silver spirit seal that now adorned the back of his right hand. "This just sort of happened. If I didn't contract with it, I would not be here now."

"Mmm-hmm. Does this mean you've finally given up on _her_?"

He narrowed as his eyes at the woman and replied icily. "You know I will never give up on Restia. Which brings me to why I'm here…" He pulled out the letter she sent him and slapped it on her desk. "Is it true? Restia's still alive?"

Greyworth grinned and her carnivorous eyes glistened as she said, "Indeed. I have it on good word that she is."

"What do you want from me?"

"Smart boy. You came knowing that I would want something from you in return." She smirked and pulled a form out of her desk. "Sign here."

"A registration form?"

"All of the details regarding your family and background are backed by forged documents and identities. All that's missing is your signature."

"Why do you want me to join the academy?" He just couldn't picture the Dusk Witch suddenly calling her old maid back to the academy on a whim.

"I want you to participate in this upcoming Blade Dance."

"I told you I would never do another Blade Dance. So what's the catch?"

"My, three years traveling has really sharpened your senses. You might actually be my type now, you know."

He did blush a little at the Academy Director's words, but he shook his head to clear it of any unnecessary thoughts. "You wouldn't call me back here and tell me to participate in something I said I would never do again unless there was a valid reason."

Greyworth leaned back in her chair and let an amused smile grace her lips. "Your former contracted spirit is participating in this year's Blade Dance."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked skeptically.

"A Witch never tells a lie."

"But she also never tells the truth..."

"Relax boy. I already said I have it on good word that she will be there. In order to get the chance to meet her, you have to get to the Blade Dance, but this year is different from last year's Blade Dance. The stage is set for a team battle."

Understanding what she was hinting at, he finished her train of thought. "So you're saying I should join the academy and form a team to enter the Blade Dance to see Restia. But you're not telling me why _you_ want me to enter."

She leaned forward again and clasped her hands in front of her face. She gave him a look that truly conveyed her seriousness as she said, "... I sense something amiss for this upcoming Blade Dance."

Knowing when the Director got serious it meant something big was happening, Kamito leaned forward on her desk, his interest piqued. "What is it?"

"Who knows?" However, the serious mood vanished within a few seconds after Greyworth nonchalantly replied and leaned back in her chair with a smirk.

"Ugh! You drive me crazy!"

"Aha, There's the boy I remember from three years ago." She chuckled to herself while he glared intensely.

Ending the one-sided stare down, he gave a loud sigh and took the registration form in his hand. "Well, whatever. You've provided me with an opportunity to see my contracted spirit again. Even if it were not true, after three years and no leads, this is the closest I've come." He grabbed a pen from the top of her desk and signed on the form. After writing his signature, he handed the paper back to her.

"Splendid! Welcome to Areishia Spirit Academy. We already have several pairs of your custom made uniform ready for you to wear."

His ire rising due to the Witch's assumption that he would be attending anyways, he ignored that for now and told her in a forced voice, "Thank you very much." His reaction brought an amused smile to her face.

"Oh, and as an extra incentive for participating in this year's Blade Dance…" Her soft laugh was filled with mirth as her eyes twinkled dangerously. "The strongest blade dancer Ren Ashbell is supposed to be participating also."

"Impossible."

"A Witch never lies, boy."

Kamito frowned deeply, wondering who would try to impersonate him, and also how they knew that the real Ren Ashbell would not be making an appearance under that name. However, Greyworth waved her hand dismissively. "Do not think too deeply on it. For now, just focus on getting a team for the Blade Dance. Now then, I'll have someone show you around the campus as well." She stood from her seat and walked over to the door. She opened it swiftly, causing Ellis, who was trying to listen in from the other side, to fall on her butt.

The blue-haired girl gazed fearfully at the Dusk Witch expecting a punishment to be issued, but Greyworth decided to tease her instead. "Trying to listen in on the fun we were having?"

Ellis instantly went beet red as she tried to stammer out a response, but Greyworth once again cut her off. "Just joking. Ellis, please show Kazehaya Kamito around campus. After you are done touring, show him to his classroom." With that, the director of Areishia Spirit Academy walked back into her office, shooed Kamito out, and shut the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone in the hallway.

Kamito glanced sideways at Ellis, who was full-out glowering at him for some reason. "Hey, I know we started off on the wrong foot, so let's at least try to be friends." He extended his hand to shake hers, but she was immediately repulsed.

"Trying to feel a woman after only meeting her once before!? You really have no shame!" She yelled and turned away from him, walking away. "Come. Let's get this campus tour over with as soon as possible."

Kamito let a sigh escape his mouth as he followed silently behind Ellis. (This is going to be one hell of a school year.) he thought sadly.

* * *

Kamito looked up at the sign above the door to his new classroom and softly spoke the words engraved on it. "Raven Class.."

His tour with Ellis had been less than welcoming. She coldly addressed him each time she spoke and would always jump to conclusions when he made a comment about something. She had nearly cut his head off his shoulders on a number of occasions, even spouting some nonsense about turning him into a "marinated salmon" or something like that. He truly could not understand the life of a cultured and sheltered ojou-sama like the ladies here at the academy.

He asked her where his residence would be, since he assumed that sleeping in the girls dormitory was out of the question. Ellis had pointed out a small shack right next to the horse stables. She claimed it was built in three hours by none other than her and her spirit. Inside the shack was a bed of hay and the back of the lodge would be his restroom. He would have to share his bathing area with the horses. It was blatant discrimination against him.

A little peeved at the way she was treating him, he none-the-less gratefully thanked her for her hard work in constructing a place for him to stay. After all, compared to the cell he had at the instructional school, living in a shoddy shack next to a smelly stable with only a hay bed was a far better living condition than his cell ever was. The leader of the Sylphid knights showed her first act of kindness to him in the form of a short "you're welcome," but that one sentence was all Kamito needed to know to tell him that her opinion of him had changed from cold to more accepting, even if only a little. She showed him the few remaining places he might find necessary for his first year at the academy, like the location of the Sylphid Knights' headquarters and the girls' dormitory. He shuddered as he had nearly been cut in half at the torso as the knight swung her sword and threatened to turn him into tuna filet.

"Seriously, what's her deal with threatening to turn me into seafood?" he asked himself.

Their last stop had been his new classroom. She said it was one befitting him, since it had a reputation of acquiring all the problem children in the academy. He could not help but wonder if a certain red-head was also in this class as she mentioned the last part. After that, Ellis had bid him a farewell at the doorway, where he had been standing for a few minutes now, killing time. With a deep sigh, he was about to open the door when his instincts told him to move out of the way fast. He evaded to his right just as a whip lashed where his head was just at.

"Aww, you were supposed to get caught!"

He got up off the ground and shook his head in disappointment at Claire's way of trying to get his attention. "Why do you always swing your whip every time we meet?"

"That was for escaping, Pervert-san!"

"Agh! Not this again…" He facepalmed and walked right up to her to look her right in the eyes, causing her face to flush pink due to their close proximity. "I'm not a pervert. So please stop calling me Pervert-san." He took a step back, his face still plastered with a look of annoyance. He was a little surprised at himself for being so rude to a pretty young lady, but he was at his limit. He seriously couldn't handle being attacked like this every day. It would drive him insane.

Claire pouted and huffed dramatically, "Whatever! Then I'll call you my slave spirit!"

Kamito wanted to rip his hair out. (She's… She's going to make me go crazy…) He took a deep breath to calm himself and laughed mirthlessly. "Well, that's at least better than being called Pervert-san, I guess. But I have to decline. I won't be your contracted spirit."

"Why not? You stole my spirit, so take responsibility!"

"I already have. Had I not stepped in and contracted with the spirit, you would be dead." he leveled in response to her heated statement, effectively putting a bucket of cold water on her fire she was building up.

"Ghu!..." She lowered her gaze and consented to his reasoning. She knew that she definitely would have perished if he had not stepped in front of her to take the hit.

She felt her head tilt up, and her gaze was met with the shiny blue eyes of Kamito. "W-w-wh-what are you doing!?" Caught off guard by his cupping her chin to tilt her head back up, she burned red in the face from embarrassment.

"Relax Claire. I can't be your contracted spirit, but I can be your friend if you'll let me." With his hand still cupped under her chin, Kamito closed his eyes and flashed a dazzling smile.

*_Ba-thump, ba-thump_* Claire felt her heart beat harder for some reason. Staring back at that wonderful smile of his, she completely zoned out, lost in his eyes. Just then, someone cleared their throat and their attention was drawn to the hallway behind Kamito.

Staring back at the two of them with a stern expression was a woman in her mid-twenties perhaps. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders and she wore green, black-rimmed glasses. Her dark gray suit and white robe covering her body, giving her the air of a professor.

"F-Freya-sensei!?"

"While we do not prohibit student relationships here at the academy, I do not approve of direct and open flirtation in the school hallways."

"F-F-F-FLIRT!?" Claire's face instantly turned the color of her hair.

(... Now you've really gone and done it, sensei.) Rubbing his temple, Kamito turned to Freya and addressed her. "I assume that you are the teacher in charge of Raven Class then?"

"That's right. Freya Grandol."

Kamito gave a bow of respect. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Kazehaya Kamito. I will be in your care from now on."

"The Director has already briefed me on your admittance and situation in regards to your abilities. She said that you are an acquaintance of hers from some time ago. She talks about you all the time. You're definitely not the 'rude brat' she said you were." She smiled warmly at him, bowing respectfully to him in return.

Confident that Greyworth had left out the detail that the reason he knew the Dusk Witch was because he was a maid here at the academy, Kamito inclined his head at her statement. "You could say that. I spent some time traveling and picked up some better manners along the way."

"I see. Well it's good to see that you're friendly and courteous. You should not have any problems making friends here then."

"I certainly hope not."

"... U-Um, excuse me!"

The two of them had been so wrapped up in their conversation that they had forgotten about Claire. They directed their attention towards her to see her pouting unhappily. The break in speech allowed Freya the opportunity to say, "Right, we should hurry inside the classroom."

She opened the door to the school room and stepped inside followed by Claire and then Kamito. As soon as he stepped foot in the room, every girl began whispering to one another, sending glances with mixed emotions in his direction. Claire walked over to her seat on the far side of the room and Freya and Kamito made their way to the center front of the class.

"A boy! What's he doing here!?" "I heard that he's a male elementalist!" "I didn't know they existed!" "Could he be the second Demon King?" "He certainly looks like the Demon King!" "But he also looks kinda cute, too!"

Gossip fluttered around the classroom for Kamito to hear. Honestly, he didn't particularly care if people called him the Demon King's second coming. Being compared to a person who lived a thousand years ago because he was something like a rare genetic mutation was out of his control. He only really cared about how people saw him under the circumstances of a misunderstanding, like with Claire and Ellis. Aside from that, he could not find it in himself to care what most people thought about him.

Freya beat a meter stick on her desk to gather the class's attention. "Everyone, settle down!" She glanced at Kamito. "Go ahead, introduce yourself."

Nodding his head, he turned to the rest of the class. "My name is Kazehaya Kamito. It's a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope we can get along in the future." He bowed respectfully to the class, and again at Freya before heading to an empty seat in the back of the class.

"Oh!~ He seems pretty ordinary!" "Is this what a normal boy is like?" "He doesn't seem like another Demon King." "He's really nice!" "And cute too!" "I wonder if he prefers black or white panties…"

(... Hey, wait, what was that last girl saying?)

Ignoring the gossip surrounding him, he hurried his pace to his seat, but had to defend himself from a whip strike aimed at his neck. "Not this again.." he groaned as the whip wrapped around his forearm to restrain him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Claire asked from the opposite end of the aisle.

"To my seat."

"You're seat is right next to mine as my slave spirit!"

The classroom became lively with gossip once more. Kamito, for the most part, tuned out the other girls and spoke directly to Claire. "Look, I told you already, I will not become your contracted spirit!"

Just then, an arrow made of ice pierced the fire whip, cutting it and freeing Kamito. He turned his eyes to the steps above him where the arrow was shot from and saw a beautiful blonde holding a bow made of ice. She descended the staircase with an elegance that could only be associated with that of a noble. "A disgrace, Claire Rouge."

"Wh-What do you want Rinslet Laurenfrost!? Claire growled back.

The new girl Rinslet stopped in front of Kamito, running her eyes over his face. He gave her a puzzled look, and silently wondered if maybe there was something on his face that was bothering her. His worries were unnecessary though, as a moment later she nodded satisfactorily. "The face is not so bad. Hey, do you want to become my servant?"

"... Um… What?" he asked dumbfounded.

"H-Hey! I already said he's my slave spirit!"

"And he also expressed that he does not want to be your slave spirit, but my servant."

"Wait a minute, I didn't say that!"

Both girls grabbed one of his arms and tried pulling him to their respective sides, allowing his arms to brush up against their breasts through the uniform. He colored a little from the contact, but did not let it get to his head, instead focusing his efforts of breaking free of their grips.

"Let go of him cow!"

"Right back at you flat chest."

Kamito could practically feel the electricity sparking between the two of them as they glared daggers at each other from either side of him.

"Milady, please don't bring any hardships for Kamito-sama!"

Kamito glanced towards the top of the stairs where the new voice came from and was surprised to see a maid running down the steps towards them. She was about to reach them when she tripped and fell forward after losing her balance.

"Carol!?" Rinslet exclaimed, her face pale.

In that moment, the two girls that were grasping Kamito's arm felt a rush of wind that made their hair blow from the draft. Everyone present widened their eyes in surprise as the reason for the draft was Kamito. He had moved so fast his movements were almost unnoticeable, but he had somehow slipped free of the two girls holding his arms and had caught the maid Carol around the waist with one arm and was supporting her shoulder with the other arm. He helped her to an upright position and released his hold of her. "Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern.

She smiled at him and bowed deeply. "Yes, Thank you for saving me."

Feeling embarrassed by her reaction to his split-second decision, he rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Don't mention it, alright?"

"Huaah!~ Did you see that!?" "He was so cool just then!" "Very cool!" "I didn't know it was possible to move that fast!" "Maybe it's because he's a male elementalist?" "I wish I was the one he saved.." "I wonder if he likes big or small breasts…"

(... Seriously, what is that one girl thinking right now!?)

*_Clack! Clack! Clack!_*

"Alright settle back down, class is about to start!" Freya once more beat the meter stick on her desk and the class quieted down significantly.

Thankful to his sensei, Kamito took a seat at the very back all by himself. He had thought about sitting closer to the front, but most of those seats were already taken, and he didn't want to make any of the girls uncomfortable with his presence being so close in proximity to them. (The last thing I need is another boxed in ojou-sama to get a bad impression of me…)

The rest of the class period went rather smoothly. Freya went over basic spirit material review, which Kamito followed to a limited degree since he never officially learned any of this at the Instructional School. By the end of the class, his brain was hurting and he would have to take remedial classes starting the very next day.

* * *

(How did I get dragged into this mess?) Kamito groaned in his mind. He rubbed his temple to ease the headache he received thanks to few persistent and irrational ojou-samas. It was around two in the morning, and while he should have been sleeping, he was now walking through Astral Zero with Claire on his way to a duel with Ellis.

Earlier in the day, Kamito finished his classes and returned to his room to relax a little. He was wondering what he would do for dinner, as the "cafeteria" at the academy was too expensive for a non-noble such as he, when a knock came at his door. He opened it and was met with Rinslet and her maid Carol offering him some food if he begged like a dog and became Rinslet's servant. He politely refused, and closed the door on her. She kicked on his door repeatedly until he opened it back up, and she said that he could have the soup if she licked her foot. She was met with the same response as he declined once again and the door was shut in her face, but this time she stuck her foot in to stop it.

She continued to pester him about becoming her servant, even saying that he already obeys Claire much the same way, which he refuted. In the end, she relented and left the soup, claiming that Carol had made too much for them to eat. Just before she left, Kamito realized her intentions and stopped her at the doorway, telling her that he could not be her servant, but he would be her friend. He also thanked her for being concerned for his well-being. Being the proud ojou-sama that she was, she vehemently denied such things while Carol giggled softly in the background.

A few seconds later Claire showed up with a bunch of canned food in hand, dropping them after she saw Rinslet talking to Kamito. The two girls proceeded to insult each other until they ended up in an all-out brawl using their spirits to fight. During the fight, Scarlet accidentally set Kamito's hut on fire, so to put it out, Rinslet used her ice-demon spirit Fenrir's elemental waffe, Freezing Arrow. Except her attack thoroughly demolished the rest of his house.

Next to arrive on scene was Ellis and two others girls from the Sylphid Knights, Reishia and Rakka. Seeing the destruction caused to the hut she took all of three hours to build destroyed, Ellis got offended and automatically assumed that Kamito had destroyed it because he was dissatisfied with it. Claire and Rinslet both put the blame on one another, prompting Ellis' subordinates to mock them for being backwoods nobles. Claire and Rinslet went livid, and a fight was sure break out again at a moment's notice, but Ellis intervened and detained the situation.

Just when things looked like they were settled, Claire called Ellis out and challenged her to a duel, which was seconded by Rinslet. With her pride as a knight on the line, Ellis accepted and told them to meet in front of the Astral Gate at two o'clock a.m. tonight. Claire then told her it would be a three-on-three match, thus dragging him into their fight.

Needing a place to freeload now that his house was destroyed, he ended making his new residence Claire's room in the girls dorm. For dinner, even though all she had was canned food, it was enough for him to make a decent meal using all of the ingredients. It was at that time that she told him about her past and why she needed a powerful spirit.

Claire told him she was the youngest daughter of the Elstein family and younger sister of Rubia Elstein, the Calamity Queen who put the entire nation into turmoil after she made off with the strongest flame spirit, Laevateinn. The reason for wanting a strong spirit was so she could win the Blade Dance and have her wish granted; that is, to come face to face with her sister and find out the truth behind her betrayal. She also expressed admiration for Ren Ashbell, which made Kamito feel slightly uncomfortable. The rest of the night went by relatively quickly, the only incident being an unknown phenomenon making the water spirit in Claire's shower frenzy and attack her. Later on, they eventually made their way to the Astral Gate and entered the world of Astral Zero at the designated time for the match.

And so here he was, walking through Astral Zero with Claire on their way to the meeting point where their match would be held. He took a moment to let his eyes roam the dark, yet illuminated world of Astral Zero. No matter how many times he came here, he always felt a thrill of excitement just from walking on the ground that spirits roamed freely. He supposed the feeling came from his time when he was still under the alias of Ren Ashbell. Unable to practice openly lest his identity be exposed, he and Greyworth trained in Astral Zero instead, away from the prying eyes of humans. As such, he was more comfortable fighting under the conditions Astral Zero provided than in the human world.

They emerged from the small forest surrounding the Astral Gate into the stage for the fight to come; an amphitheatre from a time when the human world and Astral Zero were one world. Left unattended and unkempt for several thousands of years, it was repurposed as a theatre to watch duels between elementalists from the academy. "This is the place." he said softly.

"Okay, now is your time to shine as my slave spirit!" Claire told him enthusiastically.

"..." At this point, Kamito did not even try to correct her.

"Now then, let me see your ability. The best plan of attack will be you attacking at the forefront with Rinslet and I as back up. So go ahead and bring out your spirit!"

Kamito nodded, but felt that he should explain something first. "Just so you know, I don't even know how I was able to contract with this spirit. It should not have even been possible, but it happened. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, don't expect a whole lot. It's been three years since I last used a spirit."

"Y-You're joking!?"

"I'm not. But let's see if I can do it."

Pouring divine power into his right hand, Kamito uttered the chant to summon his new spirit's elemental waffe, and out popped a frail looking silver dagger.

"... Hm! Definitely not it's true form, I think, but it'll do." He nodded his head in satisfaction.

"W-What are you talking about!? Can you even fight with that? We were supposed to be relying on your power to fight in the front…"

"Please calm down. This is a good weapon match for me. Though it probably won't do a whole lot of damage unfortunately." He twirled the dagger in his hand before clasping the hilt in a reverse grip. He purposely left out the detail that it was because of Restia that he could not draw out the sword's true strength. He could not help but think of it as a betrayal of him for contracting with another sword other than her.

Claire sighed, her face openly expressing her disappointment, which she hid none of in her voice as she said, "If you truly say so.."

"Greetings, I, Rinslet of the noble family of Laurenfrost, have arrived." Coming out of the forest next was Rinslet and Carol.

"You're late, Rinslet." Claire stated in annoyance.

"Fufufu, a lady must take her time when getting dressed for any kind of social event."

"You forgot what time to show up, didn't you?"

"S-Shut up, you flat-chested wench!"

"Say that again, bitch!"

"But Milady, Claire-sama is right. You were in such a rush to get dressed right before we walked over."

"S-Sh-Shut up Carol! Whose side are you on!?"

Seeing the three of them dispute over absolutely nothing, Kamito wished he could go back in time several hours to prevent any of this pointlessness from occurring.

"It appears all of you are here, Raven-Class.."

Their attention was drawn to the top of the amphitheatre, where Ellis and her two knight teammates stood looking down at the four of them.

"... How long have you been there?"

"Were you waiting for an opportunity to look cool before showing up?"

"S-Shut up! T-That's not it I tell you!" Faced with Rinslet and Kamito's combined teasing, Ellis' face flushed red with anger.

"Let's begin this, Raven-Class. We need to finish before day break…" She manifested her spirit, a giant eagle surrounded by swirling winds, in a fraction of a second.

"Kazehaya Kamito - Let me introduce to you my demon wind spirit, Simorgh!"

The eagle made a dive bomb attempt at Kamito, who jumped out of the way as the bird crashed into the ground, shattering the concrete. Moments later Simorgh rose back up from the pile of rubble and descended once again upon Kamito. Using his powerful legs, he jumped straight into the air and right over the wind spirit, allowing it to pass inches below him.

"What's the matter, Kazehaya Kamito? Is dodging all you can do?"

"..."

He kept his mouth shut. Ellis' face displayed a little rage as Kamito was only jumping around with a look of disinterest on his face, like he was not even trying. Making her angry to no end, she pumped divine power into her seal and Simorgh's power and speed increased dramatically.

Simorgh rounded to make another strike at Kamito, but was intercepted Claire, who yelled, "I won't let you!" and swung her Flametongue to make Simorgh divert his course.

"And I won't let you interfere with our leader!" The Sylphid knight with braided hair Reishia swung her sword of ice, missing Claire narrowly.

"Rock Breaker!"

From his side he heard the shout of the short-haired Sylphid knight Rakka shout out her attack. He leapt from his spot on the ground and a moment later it exploded from the force of her large earthen hammer. He disappeared from Rakka's view for an instant, appearing directly behind her faster than her eyes could follow. He grabbed both of her arms and forced them behind her back, making her drop her hammer. "Rinslet!"

"Roger!" she yelled in response to Kamito's call. She notched an arrow and let it fly, piercing Rakka right in the chest with it. Rakka tensed and cried out in pain, and then went unconscious from the mental pain caused by the attack. Kamito set her down gently, and turned his attention to Rinslet.

"... Hey, Rinslet, shouldn't be you be somewhere hiding instead of being conspicuous?..." As the sniper of their group, that's where she should have been. However, she stood at the top of the amphitheatre in plain sight.

"Hmph!" she brushed her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder. "As a noble of the Laurenfrost family, I will not be satisfied unless I am in a more conspicuous place than Claire."

"We're in the middle of a fight. That shouldn't matter right now…" Kamito truly could not comprehend the mind of a cultured noble.

"You're pretty composed, Raven-Class, but do not grow complacent or you'll regret it!" Ellis warned them and sent Simorgh high into the air.

"Hmph, an easy target for my Fenrir." Rinslet proclaimed this triumphantly and shot a Freezing Arrow at Simorgh, but the wind spirit dodged it easily and turned into countless wind blades that tore into Rinslet, knocking her to the ground.

"Rinslet!" Claire screamed, and was about to rush over to help her but was stopped by Reishia. Using the opportunity to close in on Claire, the braided knight swung her ice sword at Claire. The redhead clicked her tongue and backpedaled to avoid the sword strikes. "Kamito, stop Ellis!"

He nodded and sprinted towards Ellis. By now she had recalled her wind spirit and summoned her elemental waffe Ray Hawk, and was pointing it straight at him releasing a torrent of wind blades. Unable to dodge them all, Kamito felt the wind cut into his arms sending jolts of pain right to his brain, but he kept moving forward. When he came within a desirable range, he threw the dagger right at Ellis. She stopped her attack and deflected the thrown weapon with her spear, breaking it and causing it to disappear in a flash of light. "Ha! What a flimsy elemental waffe! Is this all you have Kazeha- Gah!"

Her sentenced stopped short as Kamito used the distraction of the dagger to tackle Ellis and bring her to the ground. He was just about to deliver a punch filled with divine power when he noticed something strange happening in the sky above them. In that moment Ellis used her Ray Hawk to blast him off of her. He landed hard on the ground, his head aching with intense pain from the attack. "Hey Ellis, hold up a sec!"

"Huh? Begging for your life won't change anything!"

"No, that's not it. Something isn't right."

"What do you m-" She paused mid sentence. It seemed that she finally noticed the heavy feeling hanging in the air.

"What is… this feeling?" Claire muttered, her eyes glued to the sky where dark clouds were forming. Then emerging from the clouds with a threatening roar was a giant floating jaw; no arms, legs, or body. Simply a gigantic jaw lined with dozens of teeth perfect for shredding flesh.

"That's.. A demon spirit!"

"This shouldn't be possible! High level spirits aren't supposed to appear around here!"

Ellis and Claire both cried out as the huge monster descended from the sky, tearing into the treeline and chomping parts of the ruin to bits in seconds. It looked like it was in a frenzy, attacking anything and everything indiscriminately. It was only a matter of time before it turned it's attention to them. A demon spirit would not cause any mental damage to an elementalist like a normal spirit would. If one were to get caught in that massive jaw, they would most certainly be shredded like paper.

"Claire Rouge, we'll resume our duel at a later date. Is that alright?"

"Yes. I understand."

"Good. We'll take refuge away from here. The rest of you take the unconscious and flee. I'll bring up the rear and keep this spirit away from you."

"... No, Ellis. I'll bring up the rear."

"Claire, what's gotten into you?..." Kamito asked, but then he realized. A demon spirit was an incredibly powerful spirit. She wanted a powerful spirit in order to win the Blade Dance and meet her sister. "You're not seriously going to try to contract with it, are you?" She did not answer, but that was answer enough for him. "Think this through, Claire. This is a demon spirit. It's not capable of being tamed by normal elementalists like ourselves. If you do this and are not completely careful, you'll die."

"I have to do this to get power. I've already told you my reasons.."

"Claire, this is serious. I know you're strong, but there's no way you can take that thing on all by yourself, much less control it."

He reached out to her, but she slapped his hand away and glared at him angrily. "Shut up! I'm doing this for the sake of getting someone back that I lost! You, who can't even summon a decent elemental waffe, have no right to lecture me about such things. What do you know about losing something like I have anyways!? Just be silent, you weakling!"

"..."

"...!"

After coming down from her rant and feeling her irritation leave her body, Claire looked into his eyes and what she saw surprised her. She had expected him to fire off some sort of comeback to counter what she had said, but instead she saw him leveling an emotionless face at her angry one, his shining blue eyes reflecting a hidden pain. She knew it was the look of someone who had lost someone very dear, and she instantly regretted popping off at him without even knowing anything about him. She lowered her eyes and muttered, "I'm sorry… I'll handle the demon spirit alone. You all, please escape."

"Claire Rouge…"

"Ellis, protect everyone else. I don't like to think about it, but if I…" she ended her sentence, not needing to finish it to let everyone know what her words meant. She turned away from them, brought out Flametongue, and charged the demon spirit.

The demon roared loudly, sending a shockwave across the area that completely flattened the trees in the immediate vicinity. It turned to Claire, its serrated and jagged teeth clattering with every downstroke of the jaw. Claire danced around the great beast, using her whip to strike it and prevent it from getting too close to her.

"..." Kamito watched on, following Claire closely with his eyes. He did not know a whole lot about her fighting style, but he did know that she was a clear thinker on the battlefield; currently, she was not the same clear-headed girl. Her anger and love for her sister was clouding her better judgment, causing her to make more reckless and dangerous decisions. It was only a matter of time before the demon overpowered her.

(... I have to go help her.) he thought to himself. It was just like the time with the sword. She couldn't handle this all by herself. "Haaah.." Kamito sighed deeply. "Ellis, Rinslet, look after the others. I'm going."

""Are you an idiot!?"" they exclaimed simultaneously.

His lips upturned in a small smile as he shrugged. "Probably. I'll be right back." And then he jumped out into the open to help Claire.

The monster smacked into Claire, knocking her down on the ground. She tried to stand and run, but her legs would not move. She realized that it was because she was too afraid to move, her body paralyzed with fear. The demon spirit inched closer and closer, its teeth glistening from the moonlight. Her Flametongue suddenly vanished, confusing her until Scarlet appeared in a ball of fire and jumped at the demon, baring its fangs and claws. "Wait! No, Scarlet!" The hellcat did not stop, instead hitting the beast head on, but even with intense burning flames it was not enough to significantly hurt the demon. It opened its massive jaw and chomped right down on Scarlet, crushing the flame spirit that vanished in an instant.

"... Sc.. Scarlet?..." Claire felt the last of her strength fail her, and her body slumped. An overwhelming despair coursed through her body, keeping her rooted to the spot as the frenzied spirit drew ever closer to her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as it finally registered in her mind that she was going to die here. "...Please save me… Save me!.. Nee-sama!"

"Claire!"

She heard his voice and lifted her head in a daze. She wondered why he was even here since he couldn't fight properly, but she still felt as if a great burden was lifted off of her with his appearance. She felt her cheeks redden a little as she thought about how cool and dashing he looked right now, running in to save her.

Kamito focused divine power into his right hand seal to summon his elemental waffe. (Please, lend me your power!) His seal on his left hand burned in protest to his actions, but he ignored it in favor of pumping more and more divine power into his other seal. (... I'm sorry Restia. What I need right now.. isn't you… What I need is the power… to protect my friends!)

His seal on his right hand suddenly surged with divine power, and he could feel it. The connection between him and the sword spirit - the gate - was now unlocked. With every step he took, he could feel his senses recalling the Blade Dance three years ago as Ren Ashbell. He surged his divine power and a silver broadsword manifested in his right hand. He jumped into the air and gave a battle cry as the Demon Slayer ripped the demon spirit in two right down the middle. Kamito landed in a crouch, the demon spirit dispersing into the night before it even touched the ground behind him. At the battle's conclusion, a light rain started to fall over the battlefield, soaking everyone present.

"Hey, Claire, you okay?" He calmly walked over to where she was trembling on the ground. He knelt down in front her, smiling genuinely at her. "Well, I'm just glad you're safe."

"... Scarlet…"

"..." His smile morphed into a look of worry as Claire rose to her feet with a blank look on her face. Then she grabbed him roughly by the collar and started yelling right in his face with tears in her eyes. He stared back emotionlessly and took it.

"Why!? Why did you not come in at the beginning when you have such a powerful spirit!?..." she let her hold on his collar go, dropping her gaze. "No.. It's my fault Scarlet's gone. Because I'm weak, she's gone."

She began to cry deeply. Kamito put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "It's not your fault, Claire. Get a hold of-"

".. Ka-Kamito!"

As he was talking, he suddenly lost all the strength in his body and started to fall to Claire's side. (Ah, am I passing out? I've exhausted my divine power it seems...)

"Kamito!" "Kamito-san!" "Hey, Kamito!" "Kamito-sama!"

He heard the faint voices of the other girls in his mind just before losing consciousness after making contact with the wet ground.

* * *

In the forest, watching the battle come to its end, was a girl wearing a dress as dark as night with eyes the color of dusk and pale-white skin. Behind her were two beautiful black wings spread wide. Her appearance resembled that of a dark angel.

"... It was good to see you again, Kamito. But, you still aren't the you I want to really meet." She smiled innocently, but it only gave off a sinister feeling. "I look forward to your awakening… Demon King."

She laughed lightly, taking flight from her hidden position and disappearing into the night before anyone could notice.

* * *

**Boom. Chapter 2 for you guys.**

**I'll be honest, I had a little trouble finishing this chapter. First of all, I didn't expect it to be this long. There was just no where for me to just stop and then start off the next chapter without it bothering me, so I just typed and typed until I felt it was enough. **

**Also, this chapter was pretty boring to write. I did it to feature how Kamito's personality is different in this fanfic; he's way cooler, respectable to everyone, and a badass, but not too overpowered, as the last part of the chapter just showed. I also introduced the Voice. I'm pretty sure you don't have to stretch your imagination to know who it is, but she'll be formally introduced in the next chapter or so. The real problem with writing the chapter, and the reason why it was so tedious, was due to getting the voices for each person in their true character. You don't know how many times I referenced the light novel to see how each person spoke in certain circumstances. Plus, all of this already happened in the light novel. Nothing new in this chapter aside from Kamito's personality and the Voice. I apologize to you readers for that, but I'm hoping to get things really kicking in the next chapter. Warning, it may or may not include a lemon.  
**

**So now that I've set the standard at close to 12,500 words, I'll try to make all of the other chapters close to that length if not longer. I have to have at least some consistency with the chapter length. Just think of the first chapter as more of a prologue to the story.  
**

**Enjoy the read, leave a review if you want. Catch you in the next chapter. I'm out.**


	3. First Great Awakening

**WARNING! This chapter contains a lemon. If smut is not your kind of thing, or if it is something you should not be reading, then I kindly ask you to stop right here and not read any further. You have been warned.**

* * *

"... Mmmmgghh..."

Kamito opened his eyes with a groan. Bright sunlight filtered into the room through the window, shining right on his eyes. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his head, trying to remember exactly what had happened. He recalled saving Claire from the demon spirit, and then everything after that was a blur.

Looking around the room, he wondered where he was right now since it was not a room that he recognized. It was obvious that he was in the girl's dormitory from the layout of the room, but it was definitely not Claire's room. This room was impeccably clean with furniture and items all organized in set locations to maximize space and minimize clutter. On top of that, everything looked like it was freshly polished, almost like brand new.

He found his uniform hanging from the door, all clean and fixed up from last night's incident. It prompted him to look down at his current state of dress, which consisted of a light blue silk sleep shirt and matching silk pajama pants. He briefly wondered who had changed his clothes for him, but figured he could find that out later.

He tried to get out of bed, but as soon as he applied pressure to his right hand, a jolt of pain coursed through his arm, fully waking him up the rest of the way. He looked at the silver seal on his hand and remembered that he had passed out from divine power exhaustion. (That's right, it's been a while since I last used a spirit, so it's only natural that I would be unaccustomed to a new one.)

He made another attempt to get up, being careful to avoid putting too much pressure on his right hand. Before he finished the motion, his foot came into contact with something cold and soft. His touching it caused whatever it was to squirm underneath the bed sheets. He frowned and yanked the sheets off the bed.

"...! The fuck?"

Before him was a very pretty girl. Straight silver hair and clear violet eyes, her appearance looked like that of an early teen with her petite body. Her bust couldn't have been any bigger than Claire's, if that. The really astonishing part about her, though, was the fact that she was completely naked aside from a pair of black knee socks.

"..." "..."

There they sat, just staring each other in the eyes. After a full half minute, Kamito spoke first.

"Umm… Hi? Who.. are you?"

"Est."

"Ah, Est is your name?"

"Yes. Human vocal chords are incapable of pronouncing my true name, so for your convenience, call me Est."

Her face was an expressionless mask, and her every word sounded cold and mechanical. Her piercing gaze never broke with his even for a second. She reminded him of himself before he met Restia back when he was still an orphan at the Instructional School.

"Okay, Est, why are you in my bed?"

"Because I belong to you, Master."

"..." (No, it's impossible. I was passed out. There's no way I could have slept with such a young girl, right!?)

He rubbed his aching head, trying to remember her from somewhere, but nothing was coming to him. Sighing in recognition, he looked right in the eyes again. "Say, what do you mean you belong to me? I don't remember ever meeting you."

"I'm hurt. To think you wouldn't remember your own contracted spirit." Although the words were meant to sound like she was offended, her emotionless face gave no hint as to how she really felt.

"Oooh! So you're my contracted spirit!" He widened his eyes, genuinely surprised. Only the most powerful spirits could take on the form of a human. If what she said was true, then Est was a truly powerful spirit indeed.

"Yes, I am your sword, Master."

"... Uh, you don't have to call me master, you know.."

"Aniue-sama?"

"No.."

"Otou-san?"

"Hell no!"

"Okay then, Onii-chan?"

"Ugggghhhhh…." He facepalmed hard. "No, not any of those names. Just call me Kamito, okay?"

"Kamito. I'll call you Kamito."

She nodded and said his name over and over, mulling over it and committing it to memory. He once again rubbed his aching head and asked her another question. "Est, why are you only wearing kneesocks?"

"Are you saying you want me to take them off!?"

"That's definitely not it! And why are you getting embarrassed _now_? Just put some other clothes on please. Or at least wrap up in the sheet." The silver-haired girl did as she was told and draped the sheet over her body to cover up. "Please refrain from doing that again."

"Doing what again?"

"Showing up in my bed with nothing but kneesocks on."

"Do you want me to do it without kneesocks and show my bare feet!? Kamito is such a pervert."

"No, I'm saying you should wear more clothes, not less! It's bad for my sanity."

-I would think you would like looking at a naked girl's body.-

(Y-You! _Now_ you decide to speak to me of all times!) His face contorted with annoyance.

"Kamito, why are you making strange faces?"

"Agghhh!" He slammed his head back on his bed and stuffed the pillow over his face. He needed to let his head cool down before he said something he might regret. (Seriously, that patience you gave me when dealing with women is wearing thin right now..)

-Hoho, I apologize since it is also partially my fault.- The Voice chuckled in his mind. He had wondered where the Voice had been, since she had stopped speaking to him as often ever since he joined Areishia Spirit Academy. He wondered what had changed, and had decided to ask her about it eventually, but with so much going he just did not have the time to sit down and chat.

(... Well whatever. It's alright. I guess it's just something I'll have to get used to.) Just then he heard the door to his room open, and an astonished gasp filled his ears. (... Oh boy…)

He lifted the pillow off of his face and saw Carol standing in the door with her mouth wide open. She kept looking back and forth between Kamito and Est, not saying a word.

"Carol, is Kamito-san awake yet?" Coming up behind her was Rinslet in her school uniform. She peered into the room over Carol's shoulders and saw Est. Her eyes zeroed in on Kamito in the next instant. "Kamito-san, what's the meaning of this?" She was smiling, but it was not the smile of an innocent angel; it was that of a dangerous demon.

"Hold on, Rinslet, there's a good reason for this."

"Oh really? I'd love to hear it. Do tell me, Kamito-san."

"She's my contracted spirit."

"... I see."

"You do?"

"Yes, while I was worried about you, you secretly brought a lovely girl to bed with you and had sex with her, and now she's your contracted spirit because of that!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how that works.." Regardless of his attempts to correct her, she still summoned Fenrir right on top of the bed, the ice demon spirit baring its fangs at Kamito. "What the hell!? I'm telling you the truth! I'm gonna die at this rate!"

"Then hurry up and die, pervert!" She unleashed Fenrir on him. The ice spirit barked loudly and jumped to bite him, but Est got in between them as Kamito's shield and held up her hand. Fenrir froze in its tracks, and whimpered at the small girl in front of him.

"As a demon ice spirit, you would do best to not try and defy me, the Demon Slayer. Now, sit. Shake. Roll. Good boy." Fenrir followed every command Est gave it with complete obedience. Kamito was impressed and surprised while Rinslet and Carol both stood motionless with their mouths hung wide open.

"You.. You're really a spirit!?"

"Yes, I am Est. It is exactly as Kamito told you." Est nodded expressionlessly, rubbing Fenrir's head.

"..."

"... Rinslet?" Kamito asked, seeing her blushing furiously.

"... I-I'm sorry for doubting you, Kamito-san!" she yelled and bowed apologetically.

"! Ah, no, you don't have to apologize. I know it was a pretty weird situation to stumble upon. By the way, can you get her one of your uniforms to wear around, if that's alright with you?"

"Ah, mm-hmm! Carol, please bring Est here one of my smaller uniforms."

"Yes Milady." Carol left the room in search of a uniform for Est.

"Now that that's settled, how are you feeling, Kamito-san?"

"A lot better now. My right hand hurts, but it'll wear off eventually."

She puts her hands on her hips and glared sternly at him as she said. "I was so startled because you suddenly fainted out there."

"Ah, that reminds me. Since I'm here, I guess that means that this…"

"Oh, yes! This is my room. After the battle, Carol and I took over the duty of watching over you until you woke back up." She puffed out her chest proudly.

"Milady was very worried about your condition, so she took it upon herself to nurse you back to health."

"H-H-Hey Carol! Wh-What are you trying to say!?" *_Thump thump thump_* She repeatedly hit Carol on the back as the maid giggled to herself, seemingly amused at her master's reaction. Carol brought the clothes to Est, who was still wrapped in a sheet, and she exited the room to dress herself.

(... These two.) he thought with a smile. "Well, thank you both for looking after me."

Rinslet's face flushed pink as she tried to stammer out a response. "I-Idiot! Taking care of a servant is the master's duty…. And, you saved my friend.."

"Hm?"

He could not quite hear the last part, so he asked her to repeat it. "! It's n-nothing!"

(... She's actually pretty cute when she's not honest with herself.) "By the way, how is Claire?"

Rinslet's gaze went towards the ground as she said, "She's been locked inside of her room ever since she returned from the battle. No matter how many times I taunted her into coming out, she refused to see me."

"... I see." (So the proud ojou-sama can suffer from depression too. I hope she can come out of it.)

"Milady is very worried about her friend Claire-sama."

"Carol! S-Stop spouting nonsense!" Rinslet went red once again and hit Carol on the back. Hearing the exchange of words between the two of them, Kamito could not help but smile. (I knew that girl wasn't alone. She has good friends.)

"Kamito, I am finished."

Est stood in the doorway wearing an Areishia Spirit Academy uniform. The collar completely covered her neck, and her arm cuffs almost swallowed her small hands completely. And of course, she still had her black knee socks on.

"The uniform really suits you, Est." He stood from the bed and walked over to her, giving her a pat on the head.

"Huahh~"

(It seems she likes getting her head patted.)

"H-Hey Kamito! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hm? Is something wrong Rinslet?"

"! N-No! Nothing at all!" She turned away from him in a fluster.

(I wonder what's got her so worked up all of a sudden..) He thought to himself. He snatched his clothes from the the door and turned to Rinslet and Carol. "Thank you for taking care of me once again. I'm going to go check and see if Claire is alright."

"Farewell Kamito-sama. Milady has already expressed that you are free to come back whenever you please!"

"C-Carol! You have such a big mouth!" *_Thump thump thump_*

Deciding to have a little fun and tease her himself, he sent Est on ahead of him and turned back to Rinslet. "Oh, by the way Rinslet, I was wondering how I got into these pajamas in the first place. I mean, unless I suddenly learned how to dress myself in my sleep, someone had to have helped me get them on, right?"

His statement caused her head to steam, and even Carol was sporting a heavy blush. "I-I-I-It's not like I saw a-a-a-anything! I was s-s-simply doing it to g-get your clothes fixed. Y-Yeah, that's the reason!"

"Ah, so you really were the one to undress me?"

"! W-W-W-WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY IT LIKE THAT!?"

"I'm just joking Rinslet. Don't worry over it." He waved to them from the doorway, saying, "I'm gonna go find Claire. I'll see you guys later." Chuckling to himself, Kamito and Est left Rinslet's room and made their way to the other side of the dormitory to Claire's room. He silently hoped that she was not taking things as bad as it looked she was, but he would soon find out the truth of the matter for himself.

Back inside the room, Rinslet's face had returned to its normal color and she was pouting unhappily. "Geez, who does he think he is, teasing me of all people!" However, she could not deny that she had stole a glance at his well-toned body before dressing him in his pajamas. It had taken all of her willpower to not touch his chest to feel how a boy's body felt. Thinking about it caused her blush to return in full force, which did not go unnoticed by Carol.

"Fufu~ it is obvious Milady has feelings for Kamito-sama."

"W-W-WHAT!? That's utterly ridiculous! Preposterous! Absurd! Inconceivable! Unimaginable!" *_Ba-thump ba-thump ba-thump_* Despite her words, she felt her face get really hot when she thought about him. She brought a hand up to her chest to feel her own heartbeat, pounding inside of her chest at an abnormally fast rate.

(Do I actually… like him?) She never noticed it until now. When she met him, sure he was cute and all, but she only saw him more as servant material than boyfriend material. Yet, the more time she spent around him, the more she began to see him in a more romantic light. There was something about him that she found very attractive and hot, but she didn't exactly know what it was about him that made her want to be seen by him.

She hit her cheeks with the palms of her hands to snap her out of the daze she was in. She looked at Carol, who was grinning happily at her. (Would asking Carol for advice be okay?) She had known Carol since they were children. As far as she knew, Carol had no interactions with any men other than those of the Laurenfrost Family, which were few to begin with. (... But then again, I'm no better..)

"... Say, Carol.."

"Milady?"

With a face as red as Claire's hair, she stammered out, "... I-If I l-liked a b-b-boy… h-how would I b-be able t-t-to express m-my f-f-f-feelings for h-him..?" Her face burned even more as she yelled, "O-Of course, this is purely hypothetical! It's not like I truly have feelings for that insolent commoner boy!"

"Commoner? Aha, so it is Kamito-sama!"

"Ghu! … Uuu…"

Rinslet realized she had accidentally described the man on her mind and had given Carol the truth about how she really felt about Kamito. She slumped down onto the floor, tears threatening to start pouring out of her eyes at a moment's notice.

Carol walked over to her and bent down so she was eye level with Rinslet. She reached out a hand and wiped away the tear in the corner of her eye, smiling warmly at her master. "No worries Milady. You're secret is safe with me. As a maid of the Laurenfrost household, it is my duty to help Milady whenever Milady requires assistance. I'll tell you everything I know."

"Carol… Thank you." Rinslet said with a grateful look in her eyes.

"By the way Milady, may we please talk about this over lunch? I am quite hungry." As if to punctuate her statement, both of their stomachs growled loudly.

"Yes, yes, I'll go make lunch for us." Rinslet stood with a smile and walked out the door towards the kitchen area. Carol followed along right behind her, humming happily.

* * *

Ellis sat by herself on one of the many benches dotting the courtyard outside of the school building. She had just finished eating and was relaxing for the rest of her lunch break before resuming her afternoon duties as a Sylphid Knight. She leaned her head back and stared up at the sky, watching the clouds inch by miles above her.

"I wonder if Kamito has awoken yet.."

Following the events of last night, she had Reishia and Rakka taken to the school infirmary to rest up and regain their strength. From the looks of it, it would take them some time to fully recover, but overall they would be okay with rest. She had insisted that Kamito also be taken to the infirmary, but the stubborn Rinslet would have none of it, taking him back to her room to take care of him. She had immediately refused stating that a boy and a girl under the same roof would only cause trouble, but the Laurenfrost noble countered just as quickly with the fact that he was staying in Claire's room and they did not have any problems of indecency. Seeing that there was no way to disagree with Rinslet and back up her reasoning logically, she relented and let the her take him in.

That did not mean that she was happy with the end result. If she were honest with herself, the real reason she did not want the two of them in a room alone was because something inside of her felt highly opposed to the idea. She didn't know what it was, but all night and all this morning she was thinking about Kamito and if he was really alright. She supposed it was because she felt guilty about the way she was treating him before; she was the leader of the Sylphid Knights, tasked with keeping order on the academy grounds, and he was a male elementalist, the only of his kind in one thousand years, whose very existence brought about disarray and chaos. When she first met him, she absolutely despised his guts, but after last night, her opinion of him made a complete U-turn. Not only did he save a fellow academy student from harm's way, he was prepared to sacrifice himself in order to do it. To her, it was like he had exchanged his ruffian nature for that of a gallant knight.

She felt her body heat up as she thought about him in knight's armor, wielding that brilliantly shining silver sword, charging in to save the day, but the one he was saving this time was her. "Aaaaahhh! What am I thinking!? Such indecent thoughts!" She stood abruptly, shaking her head to clear the images swirling in her imagination.

"I.. I should definitely apologize and thank him later…" She just felt so bad about the way she treated him before his act of heroism last night. She assumed it was because of her knight's honor that she felt she had to do it, but she had an lingering feeling that it might be more than just that.

"... Hey, it's that male elementalist."

"Wow, who's that pretty girl he's walking with?"

Ellis perked up her ears at the gossip flowing between a couple of the nearby girls and started walking in their direction. It was a couple of seconds later that she saw Kamito walking through the courtyard on his way to the school building with a very pretty girl with white-silver hair.

"Woooow! She's so cute and pretty! Did we have a student like that here before?"

"You think that she's his… girlfriend!?"

Every girl in the area that had heard her speak gasped all of a sudden, including Ellis. She wondered why her chest hurt a little when she heard that, but ignored it for now and continued listening to the ongoing gossip.

"Uwaaaaah, Kamito-san has a girlfriend already.. *_sob, sob_*"

"Hey, don't cry now. Anyway, she looks kind of young."

"Very young."

"Almost too young."

"Hm, hm."

"""..."""

"... Do you think Kamito-san likes younger girls?"

"Nooo! Don't say that! What if it's true? He'll never look at me!"

"Rather, I didn't think Kamito-san was such a person."

"Yeah, how indecent to take a little girl."

"...!" It was then that Ellis felt a vein pop in her mind, and she flushed with anger. (That.. That, that, that!... Insolent person! Taking a little girl, of all things! I'll turn him into diced vegetables!) Her head clouded with rage, she marched right over to Kamito and the unknown little girl.

* * *

A couple of minutes earlier, Kamito had just left the girls' dorm building with Est. He checked inside of Claire's room to see if she was there, but she was mysteriously gone. Figuring that she probably went to eat lunch at the outrageously over-priced cafeteria, he took off for the school building in search of her.

He glanced sideways at the silver-haired beauty walking next to him. "Hey Est, I was thinking.. Why were you naked this morning? Can't you just reconstruct clothes like your kneesocks?" It was common knowledge that only the extremely high-ranked spirits had human forms. Forming clothing out of divine power should have been a simple matter for one like Est.

"I thought Kamito would like it better that way."

"You thought wrong."

"Do I really have to take off my knee socksnext time!?"

"There won't be a next time, thank you very nuch! Also, I think you're misunderstanding my words..." He pinched the crown of his nose in frustration. "Anyways, is our Path connected now?"

"You are referring to the Magic Circuit? No, not completely. The main reason why," she points at him, "is because Kamito is subconsciously rejecting our contract."

"..." He stole a glance at his gloved left hand branded with Restia's seal. He had a sneaking suspicion that was the real reason why he was rejecting the contract with Est. Even if his mind had accepted he did not need her right now, his heart was not so willing to accept such a conclusion. Giving an apologetic look, he said, "I'm sorry Est. It's not that I'm willingly rejecting our contract, I assure you."

"Do not worry. I wanted to get out of that sword. I've been sealed away for hundreds of years. And besides…" She stepped in front of Kamito, preventing him from walking forward another stop. He looked at her questioningly, and she pointed up at his face. "I have a good impression of you? In other words, I like you."

"Eh, really? Well, thank you Est." He patted her on the head, and she seemed to enjoy it very much. "But I've heard the stories about how you rejected several other elementalists before me. So why did you choose me?"

"Yes it is true, I rejected fifty-three other elementalists before you. As for why I chose you, call it an intuition."

"Hm?"

"The two of us - I feel like we're alike."

"Is that so? Like how?"

"Kamito, do not pry into a girl's secrets!" She pressed her finger against his lips, surprising him with the close contact. She then turned on her heel and started walking ahead of him in the direction of the school. Sighing, then smiling, he walked after her. It was around this time that they walked into the courtyard and drew the attention of several nearby girls.

"Hey, it's that male elementalist."

"Wow, who's that pretty girl he's with?"

At this point he automatically tuned out any outside chatter. Gossip was never high on his list of interests. He preferred confirming things with his own eyes and ears rather than relying on what other people saw or heard. This philosophy was not shared by Est, as she slowed her pace to actively listen in on what the girls were talking about.

"Kamito, what's a girlfriend?"

"Hah? It's a girl who's a really good friend."

"Kamito, am I your girlfriend?"

"Well, ah, how do I put this…"

Faced with Est's serious face, expecting a truthful answer, he did not know how to respond without it sounding bad to her or anyone possibly listening. The last thing he wanted was to tarnish his already fragile reputation at the academy.

*_Clink!_* The sound a sword unsheathing came from his back, and he had just enough time to duck before a sword passed right over the area where his head was moments before.

"Kamito! You indecent scum! Claiming a little girl as your own!"

"Hey, you're wrong you know."

"Shut up! Get turned into sashimi!"

She swung her sword, but as soon as she did, it went limp and bounced harmlessly off of his skin. "! What's the meaning of this!?" she yelled in surprise, he eyes wide in shock.

"Howling Property Resonance. I can freely interact with blades as a powerful sword spirit."

"A sword spirit!? Then she's…"

Kamito nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah. This is my sword spirit. Her name is Est."

"I see… Then I'm sorry for misjudging you." She bowed deeply to prove her sincere apology.

"Ah, you don't have to go that far. It was just a misunderstanding." He waved off the whole little excursion with a smile. "How are Rakka and Reishia?"

"Those two? They're fine, they just need their rest. After the beating they took from you guys, they most likely will not be able to use their spirits for some time."

"Ah, I'm sorry about that. Those girls really do not know the meaning of the phrase 'hold back'." he said sheepishly.

Ellis shook her head in response, saying, "No, it was a good lesson for the two of them. That's how a duel works. But anyways, the real reason I came over…" She cleared her throat and Kamito tilted his head in wonderment. "... I want to apologize."

"Huh? What for?"

"I…" she diverted her gaze, "I haven't been treating you fairly only because you are a male elementalist. Therefore, I feel obligated to apologize to you for my behavior.." She fidgeted where she stood, looking uncomfortable after admitting to her guilt. Truthfully, he found the way she held herself in regards to self-righteousness and sense of justice charming in its own way. "And, also," she continued, "when you went up against that demon spirit, how do I put it…" A light blushed colored her cheeks as she looked away. "Y.. You looked really cool. To be honest, I was scared to death."

" O-Oh! Well, fortunately I had a lot of run-ins with frenzied spirits, so I knew how to handle it." Not really one to bask in the feeling of being praised, he humbly stated the truth without revealing too much about his past.

"Kamito, I do not like to be ignored." Est spoke from his side, her face looking what one would call irritated as far as Est's facial expressions had revealed thus far.

"Oh, I'm sorry Est. I did not mean to be rude." Turning back to Est, he suddenly remembered the reason why he was there. "Hey, Ellis, you wouldn't have happened to see Claire around, have you? I went to check up on her in her room, but she wasn't there. I was hoping maybe you would know before I went and checked out the school building next."

"Claire? No, I have not. I was under the impression that she was still locked inside of her room after losing her contracted spirit. However, there may be a place she might have gone."

"Where to?"

"There is a Militarized Spirit Contract Ceremony being held today in the academy town. It's designed to recruit volunteers among the academy into the military in exchange for allowing them to contract with a militarized spirit. This works well with the academy, since most of the students here are aiming to become spirit knights some day. The way they decide who contracts with the militarized spirit is with a Blade Dance. It might be possible that she went there to get a new spirit."

"..." He wanted to deny it, but he had an uneasy feeling settling in his gut that told him Ellis was probably right. He knew that she wanted power no matter the cost, and the easiest way to get that power now would be to obtain the militarized spirit. But without her contracted spirit, attempting to enter the Blade Dance and actually compete would be akin to suicide. However, he couldn't shake this feeling…

"... Thanks for the information Ellis. I'll be seeing you around!"

"Eh? Kamito-!"

He had already grabbed Est by the hand and was running in the direction of the academy town. (I hope Ellis is wrong and my gut is lying to me.) he thought, already feeling the small bit of hope that Claire might not be there at the town vanishing with every passing second.

* * *

Claire trudged through an alleyway within the academy town on her way to the Militarized Spirit Contract Ceremony. Though her will and soul were crushed, she could not give up now, not after Scarlet sacrificed itself to save her. This was her chance to avenge Scarlet's death and obtain a powerful spirit so she could meet her sister someday.

She felt a twinge of pain in her heart at the thought of her precious contracted spirit. She knew it was her own arrogance and stupidity that had led to Scarlet's death. Her one true friend she had known since childhood - gone in an instant in the maw of a demon spirit. Had it not been for Kamito, she would have been killed herself.

She did feel some warmth flow back into her heart as her thoughts turned to him. She found it very strange how every time she thought about him, her heart would begin to beat faster and her face would color. A more recent development she now experienced was the wetness she felt between her legs when she was near him. That was the other reason why she had stayed in her room instead of being by his side and watching over him as he recovered. Whenever she was close to him, her body would gradually heat up and build up to the point where she just could not think clearly. It became really problematic for her after he saved her from the demon spirit, so to prevent herself from giving in to the urges she was feeling, she locked herself in her room to sulk and deny her body the feelings his presence welled up within her.

Realizing that she was once again day dreaming about Kamito, Claire frantically shook her head to clear it of his face. "Why do I keep thinking about him!? It's not like I need him or anything!" She said that to reassure herself she was right, but the words lacked the enthusiasm behind it and had no effect at all.

"... Do you seek power that badly?"

Hearing a voice from behind her, Claire whirled around and came face-to-face with a gorgeous girl with black hair, dark eyes, and a night-colored dress. Her face and skin were flawless, and her eyes seemed to mesmerize all who looked into them. Claire was instantly taken with the girl's natural beauty.

"You have my thanks. Kamito has awoken because of you. But, he is still not at his full power."

"Who are you, and what are you talking about?"

"He still requires more to awaken his full potential. But, as thanks for helping him wake up initially, I'll give this to you." She walked up to Claire and extended her hand, a black fog swirling around it and condensing in the palm of her hand.

"That's a spirit!?"

"Yes. It can draw out your true strength."

"My true strength?..."

Claire stared wonderingly at the small mass of darkness floating in the girl's hand. The logical and reasonable Claire Rouge would have been alerted to something suspicious like this, but with her weak spirit and willpower in her current state, she was willing to do anything to get power. She accepted the girls hand, and the fog seeped into her skin. She winced in pain for an instant, and gazed at her left hand now sporting an ominous black seal.

"This the frenzied spirit Gespenst. Do you like it?" The girl asked with a smile that only belonged to either an evil angel or an innocent demon.

"It feels… different." Claire said honestly, feeling a little uncomfortable with the feeling the seal gave her.

"Ah, worry not. That's only natural when one acquires a new spirit, right?"

"... I suppose so, yeah." Claire admitted. She turned her back on the girl to talk away, but realized she did not even know her name. She turned back around, but the mysterious lady was no where to be seen. She stood there for a few moments wondering who she was and where she could have gone, but knew that she needed to hurry or else she would miss her chance to sign up for the ceremony.

She glanced at her left hand as she ran down the alleyway and back out into the streets on her way to the Blade Dance. (.. My true power, hmm?...) She could feel that it was indeed a powerful spirit within the seal, but she also felt something else like a creeping feeling emanating faintly from the seal as well.

(... I'll only use it as a last resort.) she resolved, and quickened her pace to the registration tables outside of the arena where the ceremony would take place.

* * *

Several minutes later, Kamito came into academy town out of breath, frantically scanning the streets in search of Claire. Practically dragging Est behind him, he weaved in and out of the crowd clogging the road, making his way to the arena at the center of the town. He found the place he was looking for surrounded with spectators watching the Blade Dance for entertainment.

Running up to the entrance, he flashed his school badge to the guard in charge of admittance and pushed his way to the front of the spectators. He saw about twenty girls participating in the Blade Dance total, and among them was Claire to his chagrin. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not imagining it, but Claire looked very beaten, bruised, and was crawling along the ground.

"Claire, what were you thinking, entering a Blade Dance and only fighting with your whip and spirit magic!?" he said to himself. It was true that Claire was above the norm in terms of power and ability as an elementalist at the academy, but that was only the case with her contracted spirit. Without Scarlet, she could not hope to compare to a spirit's power.

The only thing stopping him from entering the arena and saving her was the fact that she would get disqualified from the match. If he did that, he knew that she would never forgive him for taking away her last opportunity to get a strong spirit. Stuck in a difficult position where he could not take any action, he gritted his teeth as Claire took another hit and slammed into the nearby wall.

The redhead grasped the dirt at her hands and forced her body back up. She could taste the metallic flavor of blood on her tongue, indicating she was bleeding inside of her mouth. She stood shakily, but fell back down to one knee after her head started spinning. It was likely that she had suffered a concussion from the last blow.

"You're still continuing? I guess some people just never learn." came a scornful voice from Claire's front.

Said girl glared at the two elementalists in front of her, an adamantine spirit elementalist and a magic mirror spirit elementalist. The second of the two girls insulted Claire further, saying, "I guess she's just stupid. No one in their right mind would fight without a contracted spirit."

"That's what pisses me off about you. You're always so full of yourself."

"Bitches! Take this!" Claire chanted the incantation for a fireball spell and hurled it at the adamantine elementalist, but her spirit deflected it easily.

"Hahaha, is that all you have? Pathetic! Go my adamantine spirit!" Her spirit charged Claire and hit her right in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her and causing her to fold over on the ground in pain.

"You're so fucking cheeky despite being the Calamity Queen's little sister."

"You should give up now, or else you're really going to die, you know."

"If you quickly get up and lick our toes, we'll forgive your foolishness that you no doubt inherited from your sister."

"... Shut up."

"Eh?" "What was that? We couldn't hear you."

"I said be silent! I'll show you my _real_ power!"

She coursed divine power into the seal on her left hand, opening the gate. She had a horrifying feeling wash over her whole body as the spirit was released from the seal, giving her goosebumps as the feeling seemed to crawl across her skin.

"Oh shit, she's got a contracted spirit!?"

Before any of them could react, a black flame shot out of Claire's hand and consumed the adamantine spirit. In the midst of the black burning flames was a jet black feline beast with eyes of madness and darkness. The beast roared and pounced the magic mirror spirit, devouring it in a matter of seconds.

Back in the stands, Kamito had stood up from his seat at the sight of the black magical beast. While it resembled Scarlet, the entity was emitting dark and ominous divine power all over the arena. The aura spread to the other spirits, causing them to go mad and start attacking and eating each other indiscriminately.

"A frenzy spirit!? And it's spreading the frenzy to the other spirits!"

He briefly recalled the demon spirit from last night and the water spirit in Claire's room, and it occurred to him that all of these spirits going into a frenzy was not just a coincidence any longer. He looked at Claire again, and saw her pale and exhausted form sitting on the ground. Blood oozed out of her seal on her left hand. It looked like the frenzy spirit was forcefully taking Claire's divine power.

The crowd began to take notice that something was not right and started making a commotion. The girls in the arena all ran for the exits. He wondered why the Sylphid Knights were not taking any action, but he saw that every knight stationed at the arena was standing stock still with a glazed over look in their eyes, like they were under an illusion. (What the hell is going on here?) he thought.

"Kamito, that is a frenzy-type spirit." Est pointed out to him.

"A frenzy-type?"

"They possess other spirits and cause them to go berserk. The possessed spirit will continue to fight until its existence vanishes."

"So, that beast is really Scarlet then?"

"Correct. A high level spirit like the hellfire cat would not be destroyed so easily. However, if the frenzy continues to possess it, it is only a matter of time before it will disappear into oblivion."

Kamito eyes zeroed in on the black flame cat that was eating another spirit. If it continued on like this, not only would Scarlet be destroyed, but Claire by extension from divine power depletion. He look down at Est, and said seriously, "Est, will you lend me your power to save them?"

"I am your sword, Kamito. Your wish is my command." She took his hand and was enveloped in a dazzling white light. When the light died down, in his hands was the silver broadsword Terminus Est, the Demon Slayer. The blade in his hand gave off a radiant shine filled with divine power.

-I apologize, but until the Path is completely opened, this is the extent of my abilities.- she told him in his mind.

Kamito kicked off of the ground and leapt over the stands and into the arena. "Don't worry, this is plenty enough!" As soon as he hit the ground, the black spirit hissed and pounced at him. He parried the black flame beast away and ran over to Claire.

"Kamito.." she muttered. Her eyes were unfocused and face completely white. Her entire body felt numb and heavy. He seemed to be calling her name, but she could not hear him very clearly.

"...re! ..ey, Cla..! ….CLAIRE!"

"!" She gasped in surprise at the forceful voice that brought her back to consciousness. She looked at at the handsome face of Kamito, wondering how he got here and when.

"Claire, wake up! Take a good look around!" He had to turn back around to knock away another attack from the black flame spirit. Claire did as she was instructed and surveyed the area, and what she saw absolutely mortified her. All across the arena were gross, black flames burning the ground, the stands, and other spirits. Spirits were fighting and eating each other. The crowd was in a panic, and the other elementalists were already long gone.

Her eyes jerked back to Kamito, who blocked the claws of the beast with Terminus Est. "What.. What is this?" she asked fearfully.

"These are your flames, Claire! Is this the power you so desperately wanted?" He twisted his body to the side to dodge a black fireball sent at him. He slashed at the spirit and hit it across the side, only grazing it, but it was enough to force the spirit back enough so he could have a little time room to breath. He hacked away at the spreading black flames, putting them out in a single swipe for each patch he hit. He reached out his hand to Claire to help her up, but she refused it angrily, yelling at him instead.

"What do you know! I need this power! If I don't have this power… then I'm all alone….." She spoke the last words very softly, but even so, they still reached his ears.

He stopped swinging the Demon Slayer, and turned towards her. In an a very calm voice, he responded to her, "But, you aren't alone."

"Hm?.."

She looked up at him teary eyed, and her eyes sought out that comforting smile of his that had charmed her since day one. He knelt down in front of her and continued saying, "You say that you want power. But, true power does not come from relying only on yourself."

".. Wh, What are you trying to say?"

He brought his head up to the sky, watching the clouds go by as he remembered his old self. "I was a lot like you when I was little, in that I always thought I was alone. Because I was alone, I thought all I had was my own power to rely on to help me out." He closed his eyes and pictured in his mind the girl Restia, who gave him his human heart. "That was a long time ago. Eventually, I figured out where a person's true power comes from."

"Where then? Where does it come from?" she asked anxiously.

He opened his eyes and smiled wide at her. "From wanting to protecting what's precious to you, and relying on those who care about you."

"Precious… Those who.. care about me?"

"That's right. Ellis, Rinslet, Carol, Est… And me. You're never alone. We're your friends."

Those words caused something to break inside of Claire and a feeling inside of her was beginning to build up and flow over. She realized that at some point she had started crying, but they were not tears of sadness, nor of anger.

"... I.. I'm happy…" she said weakly, and cried even harder. Kamito put a comforting hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It had the desired effect as she used her sleeve to wipe away the tears staining her pretty face, and looked up at him with eyes filled with new determination. "I'm okay now."

He nodded and helped her to her feet. They both turned to face the black flame beast, whose wound had healed now. It was watching Kamito warily, deciding on the next best angle of attack.

"Claire, Scarlet did not vanish. It was only in a weakened state and could not be summoned through the seal because of that. I don't know how, but it became possessed by a frenzied spirit."

"Wait.. so, _that_ is Scarlet!?" She yelled in surprise. The frenzied spirit wavered for the first time, as if trying to respond to that name.

Kamito took a defensive stance beside her with Terminus Est at the ready. "Please stand back Claire. A frenzied spirit has no reason, only instinct. It will even attack it's own contractor."

"... I know how to stop the frenzy spirit."

He glanced behind him and saw her chant the incantation for a small fireball. He briefly wondered what such a small attack would do to a flame spirit, but she surprised him by thrusting the fire down on her left hand to burn away the seal. If the seal was broken, the contract would be severed, and the spirit would leave Scarlet. He immediately understood her intentions and mentally praised her for her quick thinking.

The beast howled in agony and lunged at the source of its pain, Claire. However, Kamito appeared between the two of them, swinging Est across his shoulder. He got cut across his chest by the fiery claws, but his sword cleaved right through the frenzy spirit, sending it back to Astral Zero.

He kept his senses alert for any last second attack just in case he had not completely gotten rid of the frenzy spirit, but his worries were for naught as the black flames surrounding the arena all went out one by one. He ran back to Claire, who was sitting on the ground and breathing heavily.

"Are you alright, Claire?"

He looked down at her left hand, burned and hideously scarred. But, there was no longer a black seal tattooed onto it. She had succeeded in severing the contract with the frenzy spirit. She moved her able hand to the face to wipe away the sweat on her forehead, and looked at at Kamito. "Yeah, I think so."

"You got burned pretty badly. Here, let me take a look, I know how to administer first-aid."

"N-No! I don't need any help, I'm fine!" she said in a fluster. However, the moment she moved her left hand, pain shot up her arm and she bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming out.

"You should be more honest, you know." he teased.

"Shut up! I'll burn you to cinders!"

He genuinely laughed at her response, causing her to smile as well. (This is the real Claire Rouge.) he thought happily.

Unfortunately, the sweet moment was interrupted by a new voice. "Aww, I see that you didn't like my present."

Kamito eyes widened in surprise when he heard that voice. It was one he knew so well, and yet he had not heard it in three years. He trembled as he slowly turned his body to face the source of the voice he heard just now. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Standing on the opposite side of the arena was a girl with dark hair, dark eyes, and a dark dress. Her slender figure made her look like a fashion model. Her bewitching smile looked like it could hypnotize anybody. Kamito immediately knew who she was.

"... Restia..?" His voice was almost inaudible. He felt like he was seeing a ghost without the scary feeling. Rather, this feeling he had was probably worse than that. He did not know what was going on, but his intuition was telling him that Restia had something to do with all of the frenzy spirits around town and in Astral Zero lately. That thought alone made his stomach flip.

"It's been a long time, Kamito." Her voice was neutral, but she maintained her disarming smile.

"Restia.. I-" He cut his sentence short. There were so many emotions welling up inside of him that he could not form a complete sentence. There was so much he wanted to tell her, to ask her; he didn't even know where to begin with it.

"I'm sorry Kamito. We'll save the hugs for our next meeting. I came here to see you fully awaken, and I plan to do it with this child here." She spread her black wings and flew over to the sleeping militarized spirit. She held out her hand, and a black fog appeared out of thin air. The fog slowly descended from her hand to the pillar where the spirit was sealed, shrouding it and injecting itself into the pillar..

A moment later, the ground began shaking uncontrollably, and the pillar started to crack. A large section of the pillar fell off, and white light beamed out of the hole and the cracks. A giant hand emerged from the hole, followed by another, and then a head.

(The militarized spirit is going into a frenzy now!?) Kamito exclaimed mentally.

"The militarized spirit - Glasya Labolas. Have fun dealing with him Kamito. Fighting this spirit should awaken more of your power."

"What do you mean by that? Hey, Restia!"

"This goodbye for now, Kamito. I will see you again eventually."

"What's going on Restia!? What is-"

"This is a part of your wish."

"!..."

He froze to his spot. She knew he had made a Wish three years ago, but could not remember the details about it. He wondered what it was that he wished for exactly, because if this was a result of that wish then he really regretted whatever it was. He watched helplessly as Restia evaporated into a darkness and was gone. He sunk to his knees and continued staring at the spot in the sky where she had just been.

Claire ran up beside Kamito and grabbed him by the shoulders, trying desperately to shake him back to his senses. "Kamito! Are you listening, Kamito!"

But he could barely hear her. His conscience was deep in his inner mind, falling away from the light and into the abyss. He couldn't shake the fact that Restia was the way she was now because of him. He had lost her, and because of his wish, this is what she had become. As he plunged into the darkness of his mind, he heard a voice.

-Are you going to give up so easily?-

He knew this person as well as he knew Restia. His companion of over three years, the Voice, was speaking to him.

(Restia is this way because of me. Because of the wish I made, she's completely different…)

-Is that an excuse to give up on taking her back?-

(...!) He realized what the Voice was saying. His whole purpose for traveling abroad for three years was to get Restia back. He had found her, but in the end all he did was watch her go away and fall back into despair. But the truth was, Restia was really alive. Even if she was different, she had already told him they would meet again. That alone should have given him enough drive to take her back next time.

He forced himself out of the darkness and back into the light. Before he left his inner mind completely he told the Voice sincerely, (Thank you.)

His eyes refocused in the real world, and he found Claire shaking his body violently, probably trying to get him to snap back to his senses. He reached up with his hands and held hers, prompting her to stop.

With his hands on hers, Claire blushed from slight embarrassment, but truthfully, she didn't care anymore. The moment he appeared and saved her from the frenzied Scarlet was the moment that her heart began pounding uncontrollably. Even now, it had not stopped beating so hard. His warm hands channeled their heat through hers and into her body calming her very existence. She stared deep into his eyes and found herself getting lost in those crystal blue orbs of his. She had only read about girls that experienced this feeling in her romance novels, but never in a million years did she expect that she would ever experience what they felt.

She squeezed the sturdy hands on hers, and knew exactly what she was feeling now. (... I'm.. in love..) she thought happily. With a light smile and a pink tint to her cheeks, she released her hands from his and directed her attention towards Glasya Labolas, who was out of the pillar and making its way to a large hole in the wall to escape the arena. "Snap out of it. We have to stop that militarized spirit before it breaches the wall and enters the town."

"..." Kamito still looked unsure of himself. His sword Terminus Est had lost its glow. The shock received from seeing Restia had screwed up his ability to focus, thus impairing his divine power output. If he tried fighting now, Est would break and he would get crushed by the spirit.

"... I guess you aren't fully awake yet. Then, I shall wake you up." Her face was now centimeters away from his, blushing madly. He did not react, but in his mind he wondered what she was doing. He soon found out as their lips locked together in a kiss.

Kamito widened his eyes at the soft feeling spreading across his lips. He felt a warm feeling spreading through his body, like that of a surge in an electric circuit. Much like a surge, his divine power seemed to overflow from the kiss. His mind became sharp and focused, and his sword shone radiantly.

Claire felt a similar feeling spreading within her. Her fatigue and exhaustion seemed to just fade away as the warmth spread throughout her body. Her body, much to her embarrassment, was reacting to the warm feeling as well. The kiss had triggered some sort of lust switch within her, making her nipples hard and her panties soaked. It took all of her willpower to resist deepening the kiss and progressing further.

They broke the kiss and stared at each other, both bewildered and blushing. "A-Are you awake now?"

"Ye.. Yeah."

"Good. T-Then, let's hurry and stop that spirit!"

"R-Right!"

They both stood to their feet and turned their heads to Glasya Labolas. The giant spirit was at the hole in the wall, about to step through. Claire used her spirit magic to conjure a fireball to throw at the spirit. It hit it right in the back, causing it to roar and turn away from the hole to look at them. Kamito used the opportunity to close in on Glasya Labolas and slash at its leg. It let out a deafening cry and fell to one knee, nearly crushing Kamito in the process.

The frenzied spirit swung its massive arm straight down where Kamito stood, but he vanished in an instant, appearing right behind the giant. The spirit followed up on its attack with an arm swing intending to slam Kamito away, but he jumped over the strike high into the air. However, this left him wide open to an attack from the other arm. He realized his mistake too late as the giant fist came straight at him. With no where to dodge, he braced his body for the coming blow. Just when the fist would strike him, the punch was stopped and he landed atop the closed hand. Holding back the punch by the wrist was a flaming whip.

"Hurry Kamito, finish it! I can't hold it like this for long!" Claire yelled from the ground behind the giant spirit.

"Okay! Thanks Claire!" he shouted back, and leapt through the air straight at Glasya Labolas' face. His war cry echoed in the arena as Terminus Est, shining brighter than ever before, pierced the face of the militarized spirit and followed up with several slashes and jabs all over the gigantic creature.

Claire could only watch in awe as Kamito performed a spectacular Blade Dance. Mesmerized by the man with the silver sword in front of her, she remembered the only other time when she had been entranced by someone's Blade Dance. That feeling three years ago watching Ren Ashbell from the stands was the same as right now watching Kamito beat the militarized spirit.

(... It couldn't possibly be…) she thought with uncertainty.

Her train of thought was interrupted as her flame whip reverted back into the hellfire cat Scarlet, taking the form of a small kitten. Glasya Labolas burst into light particles as Claire held her contracted spirit gently in the palms of her hands. "Thank you, Scarlet." she said softly, genuinely smiling for the first time since her sister had left her.

* * *

Kamito lay on his bed in his and Claire's shared dorm room. After the fight with the militarized spirit, the other Sylphid Knights that were not in the arena showed up and took control of the situation from there. The guards on duty at the arena had collapsed and passed out the moment Restia left the battle, and they were taken to the town hospital for medical treatment. Fortunately, no civilians or elementalists were injured or unaccounted for during the chaos.

Kamito and Claire, for their part, gave detailed explanations of what happened to the Sylphid Knights and town guard, and were released to go back to the academy. That was a little over eight hours ago, so the sky was now filled with dozens upon dozens of shining stars that illuminated the night.

Since returning, Kamito and Claire had hardly talked to each other. He fixed dinner for the two of them, but he was left alone to eat his portion. Later when he took his shower, he returned to the kitchen to see her plate gone, meaning she had taken her food to her room to eat. He closed his eyes and thought about her, worrying about whether she was starting to hate him or something. He could still feel the soft, wet feeling of her lips against his, and the memory made his flaccid dick start to stir. He panicked and forced it to remain in a soft state using the subconscious training methods taught to him by the Instructional School.

He wondered why he was reacting this way now of all times. Even back when girls were trying to seduce him at the Instructional School, or along his travels these past three years, he always controlled his desire for sex. One of the instructors at the Instructional School had once told him, _"You can't think clearly if you're thinking with your two heads, so rely on the one that's on your shoulders."_ As a result, he honestly could say that he did not care for sex and masturbation.

However, after that kiss with Claire, it was like his locked up sexual desires were suddenly released, and he now had a difficult time controlling them whenever he thought about her. He pictured her face in his mind again, and he had to once again suppress his enlarging member. He sat up in his bed abruptly, intending to go clear his mind with a walk, but a knock at his door made him stay put.

Knowing it was Claire, and wondering what she needed this late at night, he said loud enough for her to hear, "Yes? Come in."

His door slowly opened and Claire's head appeared through the crack. She seemed to be hiding herself as only her a part of her head was visible from the doorway. She timidly asked, "Are you busy right now?"

Kamito, trying desperately not to think about his own lusts, thought about turning her away so he could go clear his mind, but in the end shook his head. "No, not at the moment."

"I see… Good." She opened the door the rest of the way, and what he saw positively left him speechless. Claire wore a loosely tied red robe that covered her down to her shins. Her semi-damp hair told him that she had just left the shower recently. He could not see much inside of the robe, but he knew that she was not wearing any clothes underneath it.

"C-Claire?! What in the world..?" His hands shot up to his face and covered his eyes. He waited for the moment when she would lash at him with her whip, but it never came. Several long seconds passed, and he heard her speak right next to him.

"K-K-Kamito.. I-It's okay." she stammered out. He slowly removed his hands from over his eyes and saw her sitting at the edge of his bed, looking longingly at him. She had a tumultuous flare in her eyes, like she was trying not to give in to something within her and she was losing. Her face had a pink tint to her normally fair white cheeks. "My body… It's been feeling very hot ever since that kiss."

At the mention of that moment, the image of Claire and his lips pressed together flashed in his memory, and his cock stirred again. Claire crawled on his bed towards him, forcing him to fall onto his back and look up at her pretty face. Fearing what the situation would progress to, he frantically yelled, "Claire, what's gotten into you!?"

"I don't know. I just want you right now, Kamito. I want you inside me." Her face flushed completely red, but she did not move away from him, instead moving her body to press down atop of his.

"Claire, we should sto-"

"I love you, Kamito."

"!..."

With her on top of him, he could only stare back at her wide-eyed. She was biting her lip cutely, looking unsure of herself. "Please… I need you." He realized that she was waiting on him to respond, and depending in his answer, she may or may not hate him forever for it. He closed his eyes and searched within his soul for how he truly felt about her. Even with her so close to him like this, he could still think relatively clearly and knew what his answer would be.

"... I love you too, Claire." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down on him even more. He pressed his mouth to hers and she eagerly met the kiss. He slid his tongue against her lips, and she answered his silent question by parting hers and granting his tongue entrance into her mouth. They swirled their tongues over one another, the two of them getting lost in the moment. When they finally separated, Claire no longer had the troubled look in her eyes; it was completely replaced with lust.

Subconsciously, Kamito was surprised at what he was doing. He had never made out with a girl before, and yet here he was doing it like a master. It was like he just knew how to do it already. He rolled Claire onto her back and moved his hands up Claire's body to the folds of her half-open robe. He pulled it apart, revealing her petite breasts and hardened nipples. He gave one of them a squeeze, eliciting a soft moan from Claire. Once again, he wondered how he conveniently knew what to do in this situation. He couldn't help but think that there were many other things that his body magically seemed to know how to do.

They separated for air after a minute, a thin trail of saliva connecting the two of them. His body seemed to move on instinct, moving his mouth to one of her erect nipples, running his tongue over it before taking it in his mouth and sucking on it. "Oooh yes." Claire moaned as her body squirmed from Kamito's actions. He let go of one tit with a loud plop and moved onto the other, giving the hardened nub a few flicks with his tongue before sucking and nibbling on it. Claire moaned loudly and jerked her body in pleasure.

He removed his mouth from her bust and returned it to her face to kiss her deeply. Claire used the opportunity to grab his night shirt and pull it over his head. They broke the kiss to allow him to get it off the rest of the way, and she drooled at the sight of his well toned abs hidden beneath the fabric. He did the same to her, pushing the robe down past her shoulders to her waist. She grabbed his pajama pants and slid them down his legs, ogling at the size of the bulge in his boxers.

He pulled the robe the rest of the way down her legs and off her feet, allowing him to see her in full nudity. She reflexively covered her pussy with her hand, averting her gaze in embarrassment. He would have none of that, however, as he used his own hand to move hers away so he could really see how wet she was.

"S-Stop staring."

"It's beautiful Claire." His words turned her face bright red. He moved his head close to her shaved mound, inhaling the scent of arousal it gave off. The smell drove him completely wild.

"N-No! It's d-dirty down there!" she cried weakly.

"Looks clean to me. And delicious." he said teasingly, and pressed his mouth against her nether lips. Claire looked like she was about to complain, but it died in her throat as she was assaulted with a new kind of pleasurable sensation. Her hands subconsciously sought out his hair, pulling his face deeper into her snatch.

Claire, under the impression that Kamito was definitely a virgin, was greatly surprised at his actions so far. The way he kissed her and teased her with his tongue and mouth made him appear as if one of the men in her romance novels had come to life. She always imagined that whatever her novel characters felt when they had sexual intercourse would feel good, but she never imagined it would feel this amazing.

With his tongue probing inside of her, Claire soon felt something building up within her. She felt her whole body tense as she recalled the dialogue from one of her novels, "K-Kamito, I.. I'M CUMMIIIINNNNNNNGG!" She pulled his face even deeper into her, coating it in her essence. Kamito tried his best to lap it all up, and continued to tongue her pussy to prolong her orgasm.

Once he finished drinking her release, he crawled back up to her and sealed his lips to hers. Surprised by the sudden action, Claire hesitated to return the kiss, but eventually did so after tasting herself for the very first time. She felt her pussy get even wetter when she realized that she actually enjoyed her taste on his lips.

When they finally separated for air, Claire panted heavily while he brushed her hair out of her face. Seeing her breathing harder than normal, Kamito got up from on top of her to give her some breathing room. Claire's whole body lay sprawled out on his bed, sweat glistening on her pristine skin. She forced herself upright and pulled Kamito back to the bed on top of her. She pecked his lips, then flipped him over so that she was on top now.

His eyes clearly expressed his surprise, but she pressed her fingers to his lips to silence him before he gave voice to his thoughts. "Shhh, I want to try something I read about." If her face was fully illuminated, he would have been able to see the intense blush she was sporting.

He watched as she slid her body down his stomach, coming to a stop right at his crotch. He immediately knew what she was intending to do, and asked her seriously, "Claire, are you sure?"

"Y-Y-Yes, I want to do this." she managed to squeak out. She slowly ran her hand over the dick outline of his underwear, wondering just how big he really was. Steeling her resolve, she reached for his band line and pulled it down, allowing Kamito's fully erect schlong to flop out. Claire stared wonderingly at the hefty piece of meat, taking it in her hand and noting just how hot it felt to touch.

Remembering a particular scene in her novel, she slid her hand up and down his meat stick slowly, causing Kamito to grown in satisfaction. Spurned on by his reaction, she worked her hand faster and faster. After several seconds, her hand came into contact with his precum and she figured now would be a good time to go another step further. She took his cock in both hands, and lowered her face to the head giving it a tiny lick.

"Ooooh man," he moaned. Feeling her confidence boost, she started licking all around his head and on the underside of his shaft. "That's it, don't stop." he called to her. She gave it a few more long licks before putting her mouth around his cockhead, bobbing her head up and down slowly at first, then gathering speed until her movements became erratic.

Though she was inexperienced, she made up for that with the effort she put into it, and Kamito soon found himself on the verge of release. "Ah shit! I'm cumming!" he warned. Claire continued to suck him off, and a few seconds later he exploded into her mouth. She felt her cheeks bulge from just how much of his cum there actually was, but she managed to keep all of it in. She let go of his dick with a plopping sound, and swallowed the cream he gave her. She noted the difference in taste from her own, and while she found it rather bitter, she could not say that she hated the flavor.

She found herself being pulled up to him to meet in a passionate kiss. He pulled back and looked right in her eyes to say, "That was amazing."

She blushed and turned her head away in embarrassment. "I-It was nothing! I just did what I read about in some of my romance stories.."

"How about we make our own romance story."

It was a simple question said more like a statement, but it left a huge impression on Claire, who jumped on him and shoved her tongue into his mouth. He eagerly greeted her, letting their tongues battle it out for supremacy. She rolled onto her back and let him take the top position, staring deep into his crystal blue eyes. "Kamito… I want it."

He met her gaze with serious concern on his face as he asked her, "Are you positive Claire?"

She nodded without any hesitation and tenderly caressed his cheek. "Yes, I really want this… I don't care what happens from now on. As long as I can be with you, right by your side, I'll be happy."

"I'll be right by your side as well. I'll always take care you and I'll always love you from now on."

"Kamito…" Claire said happily. She cupped his face in her hands and pulled him down into another passionate kiss while he slid the tip of his rejuvenated cock on the folds of her pussy. She shivered at the touch and, feeling anxious to have it inside of her, started grinding her mound against it.

Deciding not to keep his lover waiting any longer, he lined it up with her wet passage and slowly slid himself inside of her. Claire felt jolts of pleasure as her insides stretched to accommodate with his girth. He fed his length inch by inch until he came into contact with a barrier. Once again somehow knowing that this would happen, his newfound knowledge beckoned him to lean in close to Claire and whisper, "This is going to hurt a little, but I'll make it feel better very soon. Are you ready?"

She nodded her head and prepared herself for what was to come. She felt him pull out a little bit before shoving in with force, breaking past the barrier. Claire winced in pain and was about to scream, but Kamito silenced it with a kiss, causing her to calm down. He used on of his hands to gently wipe away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and waited for her to tell him when she was ready to move on.

He did not have to wait long as Claire started moving her hips around, wanting him to keep going. He nodded and continued to feed his dick into her hot tunnel. He bottomed out at nine inches and slowly pulled himself back out, causing Claire to groan at the loss. She was filled once again as he jammed his pole deep into her, repeating this over and over while increasing his pace with each thrust as well as the volume of Claire's moaning.

Claire felt like fireworks were going off in her body every time he pushed himself fully inside of her with each thrust. She moved her hips to meet his thrusts, and they eventually developed a smooth rhythm. As he continued to churn her insides, her mind began to go completely blank, making her lose all rational thinking and succumbing completely to her lusts. Truly feeling the erotic atmosphere, she brought her hands up to her small breasts and pinched her own nipples, making her moan even louder.

She could feel the sensation building within her from before, so she began coaxing Kamito, "Cum with me, Kamito! I want you to cum inside me! Become one with me! … KAMITOOOOOOO!" she screamed as her climax hit hard.

Feeling her inner muscles convulsing around his fuck stick, Kamito could not hold back any longer as he pushed his length all the way in and erupted deep inside her. Claire's insides were bathed in his hot white spunk, triggering a second lesser orgasm from the redhead. Both of them rode out each other's orgasm to the fullest, then Kamito collapsed on the bed right next to her and Claire closed her legs to prevent any of his cum from leaking out. Both of them were breathing hard and covered in sweat.

He turned over in his bed to look at her directly. Smiling tenderly at her, and using his hand to brush a stray hair out of her face, he told her, "Claire, I love you."

She genuinely smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. "I love you too, Kamito." She gently closed her eyes, and a few minutes later he could tell from her breathing that she was fast asleep.

(I guess that last bit was a little too much for her.) he thought jokingly. However, he soon felt the fatigue of their romp and just before drifting off into a deep slumber, he thought about how different his life would be from this day on.

* * *

Kamito slipped back into consciousness and opened his eyes to absolute darkness. He sat up and scanned the surrounding void for a clue as to where he was, but he could not see anything except emptiness. The only indicator that he was not in any danger was his acute senses as an ex-assassin.

He stood up, still trying to find his way with his eyes, but his eyesight was failing him. He knew he was not blind since he could still see himself, as well as the school uniform he somehow now wore. Wondering how he got here in the first place, he started walking in a random direction. Kamito had no idea where he was going, but for some reason, this place was very familiar to him, and his body somehow knew exactly where to go. Sure enough, after walking for some time, he came across a simple iron door.

Walking up to it, he peered around either side and saw that there was nothing behind it. It was just there, seemingly standing upright for no reason. Despite that fact, it did not stop him from taking the metal door knob and turning it. It opened slowly like an automatic door, and amazingly, there was a room on the other side.

He stepped inside the doorway and felt like he had entered another dimension. The interior of the room was spacious and well lit, allowing him to see clearly the bare wooden floor, walls, and ceiling. In the center of the room sat a metal box with a giant hole in one side. He walked up to it, looked inside, and saw absolutely nothing. Wondering what was in the cage before, he was caught by surprise when a voice sounded behind him. "You finally came."

He spun around to see a woman standing in the doorway with a hand on her hip, smiling mischievously at him. Sporting solid black and wearing a solid black dress and matching heels, this woman appeared about twenty-five or twenty-six give or take. Her violet eyes glowed in the dark, and Kamito had the thought cross his mind, (She's definitely not human.)

"Who are you and where are we?"

"I remember the day you asked me those same questions. It's a shame you don't remember me even though you've talked to me all this time for the past three years." Her voice sounded mocking, and her sneaky grin widened further as she saw his eyes widen at the realization at who he was talking to.

"You're her!? What's your real name?" he asked, astonished that he was talking to the Voice.

"Poor thing~, you don't even remember my name. Well, that's okay. I'll help you remember." She pointed a finger at him, and black mist swirled around his feet. Before he could react, the mist entered his head through his mouth, ears, and nose. He gripped his head in pain as images and words flashed in his memory at lightning speed. After a few seconds it was all over.

He collapsed to one knee, still holding his head in his hands and breathing hard. He looked back up at her with hardened eyes, but they softened since he knew she had to force his brain to remember what he had forgotten at an early age. "Ren Ashdoll…"

"Right you are~!" she said whimsically.

"So you were the Voice in my head the whole time?"

"Right again!"

"Why did you lock yourself away, and then start talking to me again three years ago?"

She took a moment to think about her words, then responded, "I sealed myself in a slumber-like state so when I awakened, you would be old enough to use my power efficiently. And the reason I woke up three years ago has to do with the actions you took at the Blade Dance. More specifically, your Wish you requested."

"My Wish!? Do you know about my Wish?" he asked, desperate to learn about this accursed Wish that caused him to lose Restia.

"Patience boy. I've sealed your memories concerning that Wish because knowing about it could put you in serious danger. You have to trust me on this." she told him. He had a hard time truly believing her words though, since her grin had never left her face.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at her. "What kind of danger are we talking about?"

For the first time, her smile faltered and was replaced with a blank expression. "A danger far beyond your current power."

Her words were spoken normally, but they had the weight of the world behind them. He shivered at her words, and nodded his head in understanding. "Okay, I get it."

Her grin returned the moment he relented and she went back to her jolly nature. "Good! Do not fret. As I grow stronger within you, you will grow stronger as well. So you needn't worry too much about that danger for the time being. As long as my power, and by extension yours, keeps growing, you'll be able to handle that danger in no time!"

"Ah, what do you mean by grow stronger? It took you three years for you to appear before me. Does that mean that you just recently grew stronger or were you always able to do this and just never did?"

"Oh no, no, I was just released from that cage not too long ago." She gave him a sly look and smirked. "The final boost I needed to break free came when you fucked that cute little girl you're currently sleeping with as we speak. By the way, I sterilized your semen, so you do not have to worry about anyone becoming pregnant."

Kamito blushed at her words, realizing that not only did she know about it, but she had also seen everything that they had done. A thought crossed his mind,and he looked at her questioningly as he inquired, "Were you the one that filled my head with all of that random knowledge about sex and dirty talk?"

Her smirk morphed into a cheeky smile as she nodded. "That, and I'm also the reason that girl decided to sleep with you." She saw him giving her a death glare, so decided to clarify. "Calm down, calm down, I didn't make her do it through mind control or anything. You enrolling at this school was probably the best opportunity for me to regain my power, so ever since you got here, I've been releasing an invisible aura around your person that affects all of the women that happen to be nearby, making them more susceptible to fall in love and sleep with you the longer you stay near them."

"Why did you have to do it that way?" he asked heatedly, brimming with anger.

Ren appeared unfazed by that, however, as she coolly answered him, "My power grows with emotions. While I can grow stronger off of things like fear, hate, and anger, I prefer the more benevolent emotions like love and lust. And when I put it like that, those two emotions are what you would prefer, am I right?"

He had a tough time denying her logic when staring down that coy smile of hers. In the end he backed off and accepted that this was the best way for her to gain her power. "Okay, fine. I just don't want this all to be some fake bullshit. I really love Claire, and I'm going to protect and care for her from this point on."

Her eyes lit up at his words. "I had a feeling you would say that." Her trade mark mischievous smile she was giving him made Kamito sweat. He just knew that whatever she was about to say would cause problems for him in the future.

"In order for my power to reach its full capacity by the time of the next Blade Dance, you're going to have to take multiple women."

"Wh-What!? You can't be serious!"

"Oh I am. The aura you naturally give off now will ensure that the women you take will be willing to accept as many as need be into your harem! Aren't you lucky!" she said happily.

However he was the furthest thing from happy as he angrily shouted, "That's not the point! I'm already lucky to have Claire, why would I need more!? I won't accept any more women!"

"Ohoho~! You say that now, but would you tell a girl no if she was begging you to take her like Claire did? Your aura interacts with ALL of the women you are around, so there's bound to be more that will want to get into bed with you." she said smoothly.

He was about to fire back a nasty retort, but it died in his throat. He honestly could not say that he would reject a girl if she did throw herself at him. It would just be too cruel and heartbreaking for the girl if he did that.

Grumbling unhappily to himself, he glared daggers at Ren and spoke coldly, "Fine, you win again."

"I knew you would understand." she clapped her hands together happily.

Growing annoyed, he decided to change the subject and take the conversation in a new direction. "Your name."

"Hmm?"

"Your name. I can't explain it, but it feels like it has a lot of weight to it. Like I should really recognize that name, but I don't."

He smile shrunk and her eyes grew sad, and he really wondered what had happened to this girl to bring about that kind of reaction over her name. "I will tell you some other time. For now, return to your slumber. There is still much for you to do."

"! Hey wai-" he tried to call out, but he was cut short as Ren severed the mental link keeping his consciousness inside of his inner psyche.

(Fufufu, the fun is just getting started.) she thought with a laugh.

* * *

**Tada~! My first attempt at a lemon. Not too terrible, if I do say so myself. **

**Well, it's that time of the year again in America; school time. I have a little over a week before I have to move back into my dorm. Sorry to say, but my education must take priority over my writing, so updates will be infrequent, unfortunately. That being said, I don't plan to abandon the story, and will continue to work on it gradually whenever I have free time in between classes and homework.  
**

**That's all of the announcements I have for now. If you have any questions about the story that's confusing or doesn't make any sense, I'll more than happy to answer it for you, provided the answer won't spoil the story. Enjoy the read, and please leave a review. I'd like a little feedback for this chapter if that's not too much to ask.**

**I'm out. Catch ya in the next chapter.**


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